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32X

MENTAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION OF SAVAGES.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

PRE-IIISTORIC TIMES, r.s must rated by Ancient Remains
and tho Mnnncra nnd rustoms nf Modem Savages. Fcnirtli Edition,
1878. (WilUanig ami Nnrgate.)

MONOORAPH OF THE COLLEMBOLA AND TIIY-

SANURA. 1871. (lUy Society.)

ON THE ORIOIN AND METAMORPHOSES OF INSECTS.
With IlluRtratio;is. Second Edition, 1874. Crown 8to. 3i. M.
(Maomillan ii Co.)

ON BRITISH WILD FLOWERS CONSIDERED IN

HKLATTON TO INSECTS. WRh IlliiRtratlong. Second Edition,
lb75. Crown 8vo. 4«. 6(/. (Macniillan & Co.)

ADDRESSES, POLITICAL AND EDUCATIONAL, 187i».
(Mocmillan & Co.)

SCIENTIFIC LECTURES. 1879. (Macmillan & Co.)

ns
3a,

»l

■•^"-^if,

TlIK

OKIGIN OF CIVILISATION

AND TlIK

PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF MAN.

MEXTAL mvl SOCIAL CONHITION of SAVACES.

Sir JOHN LUBBOCK, Bart. M.P. F.R.S.

D.C.L. LL.D.

PIlRSinKNT OF THE IIRITISIl ASSOCIATION

I'llRSinKST Or- TlIK MNXEAN KOCIRTY : l'RK>IDBNT OP TlIK IXHTITITM OP BANKI: 1!S ;

AIIIII'II OV 'I'lll.lllHToniC IIMKS' KTC. : noNdUAItY HKCHKTAHY m IIIK

i^XDoS iia.vkkiih: kellow ok thk soc. op antiqcauiks ; op

TUB OEOUiaiCAI,, KNTOMOI.OOICAI, AVP OTIIGn HDCIirril'.S,

FOURTH edition, WITH NUMEROUS ADDITIONS.

LONDON:
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

1882.

lONtKlN I PniNTRn BY

IPOTTlmVOOI.K AM. .0.. NRW-RTHRIT HQI-AIir

A.NU i'AUUAMEMT NTUKKT

ViiK FACE.

TN my work on 'Prehistoric Times' I have devoted
-*■ several cl>ai)tcr8 to the description ol* modern
savaj^es, because the weapons and imj)lcments now used
by the lower races of men tlirow miicli li<^ht on th(^sig.
nitication and use of those discovered in ancient tunudi,
or in the drift gravels ; and because a knowledge of
modern savages and their modes of life enables us njore
accurately to picture, and more vividly to conceive,
the manners and customs of our ancestors in ])ygone

ages.

In the present volume, which is founded on a course
of lectures delivere> at thv^ Royal Institution in the
spring of l.SfJS, I proj)ose more particularly to describe
the social and mental condition of savages, their art,
their systems of marriage and of relationship, their re-
ligions, language, moral character, and laws. Subse-
quently I shall hope to publish those portions of my
lectures which have reference to their houses, dress,
boats, armSj implements, &c. Froui the very nature of
the subjects dealt with in the prcr^ent volume, I shall
have to record many actions imd ideas v(;ry abhorrent to

PREFACE.

us ; so many, in fact, that if I pass them without com-
ment or condemnation, it is because I am reluctant to
fatigue the reader by a wearisome iteration of disap-
proval. In the chapters on Marriage and Religion
more especially, though I have endeavoured to avoid
everything that was needlessly offensive, still it was
impossible not to mention some facts which are very
repugnant to our feelings. Yet were I to express my
sentiments in some cases, silence in others might be
held to imply indifference, if not approval.

Montesquieu * commences with an apology that por-
tion of his great work which is devoted to Religion.
As, he says, ' on peut juger parmi les tenebres celles
qui sont les moins epaisses, et parmi les abimes ceux
qui sont les moins profonds, ainsi Ton peut chercher
entre les religions fausses celles qui sont les plus con-
formes au bien de la society ; celles qui, quoiqu'elles
n'aient pas I'effet de mener les liommes aux felicites de
Tautre vie, peuvent le plus contribuer k leur bonheur
dans celle-ci. Je n'examinerai done les diverses
religions du monde que par rapport au bien que Ton en
tire dans I'^tat civil, soit que je parle de celle qui a sa
racine dans le ciel, ou bien de celles qui ont la leur sur
la terre.' The difficulty which I have felt has taken a
different form, but I deem it necessary to say these
few words of explanation, lest I should be supposed to
approve that which I do not expressly condemn.

' * Esprit des Lois,' liv. xxiv. ch. 1.

PREFACE.

▼U

Klemm, in his 'Allgcmeine Culturgeschiclite der
Menschen/ and recently Mr. Wood, in a more popular
manner ( ' Natural History of Man '), have described the
various races of man consecutively ; a system which has
its advantages, but which does not well bring out the
general stages of progress in civilisation.

Various other works, amongst which I must
specially mention Midler's * Geschichte der American-
ischen Urreligionen,' M'Lennan's * Primitive Marriage,'
and Bachofen's * Das Mutterrecht,' deal with particular
portions of the subject. Maine's interesting work on
'Ancient Law,' again, considers man in a more
advanced stage than that which is the special subject of
my work.

The plan pursued by Tylor in his remarkable work
on the ' Early History of Mankind ' more nearly re-
sembles that which I have sketched out for myself, but
the subject is one which no two minds would view in
the same manner, and is so vast that I am sure my
friend will not regard me as intruding upon a field
which he has done so much to make his own.

Nor must I omit to mention Lord Karnes' ' History
of Man,' and Montesquieu's ' Esprit des Lois,' both of
them works of great interest, although written at a time
when our knowledge of savage races was even more
inij^erfect than it is now.

Yet the materials for such a work as the present
arc immense, and are daily increasing. Those who take

Vlll

PBEFACE.

an interest in the subject become every year more and
more numerous ; and while none of my readers can be
more sensible of my deficiencies than I am myself, yet,
after ten years of study, I have been anxious to publish
this portion of my work, in the hope that it may con-
tribute something towards the progress of a science
which is in itself of the deepest interest, and which has
a peculiar importance to an empire such as ours, com-
prising races in every stage of civilisation yet attained
by man.

High Elms, Down, Keni:
February 1870.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

Importance of the Subject — Difficulty of the Subject — Inactivity of
the Savage Intellect — Condition of the Lowest Races of Men
— Curious Customs with reference to Mothers-in-Law — La Couvade
— Reasons for La Couvade — Savage Ideas on the Influence of Fond
— Curious Ideas with reference to Portraits — Use of Prayers as
Medicine — Savage Ideas of Disease — Medical Treatment among
Savages — Fancies about Twins — Life attributed to Inanimate Ob-

I'AUK

jects — Salutat ions

CHAPTER II.

ART AND ORNAMENTS.

Art as an Ethnological Character — Ancient Art — Art in Africa — Esqui-
maux Drawings — The Quippu — Picture-writing — Indian Census
Roll — Indian Tombstones — Picture-writing in North America —
Indian Biography — Indian Petition — Rock Sculptures — Savage
Ornaments — Cheek Studs — Labrets — Ornamentation of the Skin —
Tribe Marks — Tattooing — Artificial Alteration of Form — Ilairdress-
ing — Feejee Head-dresses 41

CHAPTER HI.

MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIP.

'i The Position of Women among Savages — Absence of Affection in

Marriage — Absence of Marriage — Relationship among Savages —
Different Kinds of Marriage — Polyandry — Separation of Husband
and Wife — Absence of Marriage Ceremony — Marriage Ceremonies
— Relationships Independent of Marriage — South Sea System of
Relationship — Toda System of Relationship — Prevalence of Adoption
— The Milk-tie — Original or Communal Marriage — Origin of Mar-

CONTENTS.

TAUB

II-

riflge — Uachofen's Views — AVrestling for Wives — M'Lennan's Views
— The True Explanation — Origin of JMurriagu by Capture — Pre-
valence of Marriage by Capture — Originally a Ileality — Subsequently
a Form — Ilindostan — ( Antral India — Malay Peninsula — Kalmucks —
Tonguses — Kamchadales — Mongols — Koreans — Esquimaux — Nort li
and South Americans — Feejeeans — Polynesians — Philippine
Islanders— Negritos — Africa — Circassians — Europe— Kome — Poland
— Russia — Britain — Explanation of Marriage Ceremonies — Marriage
by Confarreatio — Expiation for Marriage — Babylonia — Armenia —
Balearic Islands — Temporary Wives— Exogamy — Origin of Ex-
ogamy — Prevalence of Exogamy — Australia — Africa — Ilindostjm
— Northern Asia — China — (Mrcassia — North America — South
America — The Causes of Polygamy — Polyandry — Polyandry
Exceptional— The System of Levirate— Endogamy— The Milk-tie
— Ili'lationship through Females — Causes and Wide Distribution
of the Custom — Neglect of Paternal Relation — Origin of Relationship
in the Male Line — (Miange from Female to Male Kinship — System
of Kinship through Males— The Present System . . . .72

CHAPTER IV.

RELATIONSHIPS.

On the Development of Relationships — Different Systems of Relation-
sliips — Chjssifioation of Systems — Nature of the Evidence — Custom
of addressing Persons by their Relationship — Similarities of System
among the Lower Races — Malayans — Feejeeans — Redskins — Nomen-
clature of Relationships — Eflect of Female Kinship on Systems of
Relationship — The Hawaiian System — American Systems — Import-
ance of the Mother's Brother in the Family System — The Micniac
System — Burmese and Japanese Systems — The Wyandot System —
Tlie Tamil and Feejoean Systems — Remarkable Terms in Use —
l<]xplanation of the Terms — System of the Oneidas — Otawas — The
Kaflir System — Mohegans — Crees — Chippewas — Summary of Red-
f>kiu Systems — Hindoo Systems — Karens —Esquimaux — Remarkable
Similarities — Indications of Progress — Incompleteness of Systems —
J"]xi.sting Systems Incompatible with the Theory of Degradation —
Evidence of Progress — No Evidence of Degradation — Conclusion 157

CHAPTER V.

KELKilON.

Mental Inactivity of Savages — Religious ( 'liaracterijtics of Savages —
Religious < Miaracteristios of the Lower Races of Man — ClnssiHcation
of the Lower Religions — Religions according to Sanchoniatlio — Reli-
gious ( 'ondition of the Lowest Races — Absence of Religion— Rudi-

CONTENTS.

rAUB

incntnry Religions — Religious Ideas as suggested by Sleep — Reli-
gious Ideas as suggested by Dreams — Nightmare — Shadows —
Thunder — Spirits regarded as Kvil — Spirits regarded as causing
Disease — Madness reverenced — Belief in Witchcraft — Disbelief
among Savages in the Existence of Natural Death — Low Ideas of
Spirits entertained by Savages — Greek and Itoman Conceptions —
Savage Ideas as to Eclipses — Various Notions as to Eclipses — Belief
in Ghosts — Future Life dependent on Mode of Death — Belief in the
Plurality of Souls — Divination — Sorcery — Confusion of Name and
Thing — Confusion of Part and Whole — Similarity of Witchcraft —
Wizards — Belief in Witchcraft shared by European Travellers —
Sorcerers not necessarily Impostors — Fasting — Religious Dances —
Sniokiug as a Religious (.'eremony — Intoxication as a Religious Rite 20U

CHAPTER VI.

RELIGION (continued).

Animal Worship — Origin of Animal Worship — The Kobong — The
Totem — Totemism in America — Totems in India and Polynesia — Ser-
pent-Worship — Serpent- Worship in Asia — Africa — Guinea — \Miy-
dah — Agoye the Fetich of Whydah — Kaffraria — Madagascar —
Polynesia — America — The Worship of other Animals — Polynesia —
Sandwich Islands — Feejee Islands — Siberia — China — India — Ceylon
— The Philippines — Africa — Madagascar — Europe — The Custom of
■ Apologising to Animals for hilling them — The Worship of the
Celestial Bodies — Savage Tendency to Deification — Deities not sup-
posed to be Supernatural — Life attributed to Inanimate Objects —
Souls attributed to Inanimate Objects — Tree-AVorship in Europe—
I'^ypt — Arabia — Congo — India — Ceylon — Hill Tribes of India —
Sil^eria — Sumatra — Philippines — Feejeeans — North America —
Mexico — Peru — Patagonia — Water- Worship — Europe — Siberia —
India — Africa — North America — Central America — The Worship of
Stones — Attiibutes of the God Mercury — Siberia — Ilindostan — New
Zealand — ^The Arabians — Phosuicians iu Europe — Africa — Polynesia
— Feejee Islands — Micronesia — America — Fire-AVorship — Vestals —
Asia — America — Africa — Sun and Moon Worship — America — India
— Asia — Africa — Sundry Worships

207

CHAPTER VII.

RELIGION (conchtded).

Religion of Australians — Veddahs — Californians — Bachapins —
Kaffirs — Fetichism — Hindostan — Negroes — Fetichism in other Races
■ — North America — ("hiiia — Siberia —Africa — Totemism — Develop-
mental and Adaptational Modifications of Religion — Myths — 8ha»

XII

CONTENTS.

PAOR

luanuni in Siberia — Greenland — Pacific Islands — Africa — India —
Idolatry — Origin of Idolatry — Connection with tbe Worship of An-
cestors — India — Africa — Polynesia — Siberia — Solomon's Explana-
tion — Idols not Mere Emblems — Worship of Men — Worship of
Chiefs — Worship of Travellers — The Worship of Principles —
Sacritices — Confusion of the Victim with the Deity — Worship of tlie
Sacrifice — Eating the Sacrifice— Human Sacrifices — Europe —
America — The Jews — Temples — Priests — Mystery Men — The Soul —
Ideas of Heaven — The Future State — Creation— Prayer — Morality
— The Progress of Religion — Science and Religion ....

321

CHAPTER VIII.
CHARACTER AND MORALS.

Difficulty of ascertaining the Character of Savage Races — Insecurity
of Life and Property among Savages — Progress in Morals — Moral
(Condition of Savages — Confusion of Family Affection and Moral
Feeling — Absence of Moral Feeling — Religion not necessarily con-
nected with Morality — Futur Life not necessarily one of Pimish-
raent or Reward — Rank in Heaven — Law and Right — Growth of
Moral Feeling — Origin of Moral Feeling 38b

CHAPTER IX.
LANGUAGE.

Gesture Language — The Origin of Language — All Language reducible
to a Few Root- words — Origin of Root-words — Onomatopoeia — Wear
and Tear of Words — Nicknames and Slang Terms — Origin of the
Terms Father and Mother — Words for Father and Mother in various
Languages — The Choice of Root-word" — Poverty of Savage Lan-
guages — Deficiency in Termsof Affection — Absence of Abstract Terms
— Deficiency in Numerals — Savage Difficulties in Arithmetic — Use
of tlio Fingers in Arithmetic, as shown in the Names of Numerab
— The Origin of the Decimal System 411

CHAPTER X.

LAWS.

Importance of the Subject — Savage Laws not founded on the Family
— Tyranny of Fashion among Savages — Tyranny of Custom among
Savages — Superstitious Customs — Rules relating to Legal Cere-
monies and Contracts — Court Language — Gradations of Rank — Salu-
tations and Ceremonies — Conduct of Public Business — Property in

CONTENTS.

Xlll

IMlIK

Land — Oomimmal Propi'rty — T^aws of Inhoritanco — Absence «>l'
Wills— l{(.nmn WillH— lli-rlita of r'bildron— Tho Va-su t'ustoni of
naming Parents after Children — I^aws of Inhevitanee — The Punish-
ment of Oime — Regulated llovengo — The Lawstif Prop»irty — Mani-
fest and Non-Manifest Thieves — The Wergild — General Conclusion

M.S

APPENDIX.

PART i.

DilFiculty of obtaining Conclusive Evidence — The Stationary Condi-
tion of Savages — No Evidence of Earlier Civilisation — Evidence
derivable from Domestic Animals and Pottery — Indications of Prtv
gress among Savages — Savages not Incapable of Civilisation — In-
digenous Origin of Mexican Civilisation — Progress as indicated by
Language — Traces of Barbarism in (Jivilised Countries — Arbitrary
Customs — Unity of the Human Race — Mental Differences in the
Different Races

481

FART II.

The Weapons of Monkeys — True Nature of Barbarism — Sequence of
Customs — The Diffusion of Mankind — The Influence of External
(^'onditions — The Esquimaux — Original and Universal Barbarism —
Supposed Inevitability of Degradation — Supposed Evidence of De-
gradation — The Survival of Customs — Progress of Religious Ideas —
Fetichism — Totemism — Idolatry — The True Theory of the Four
Ages — Evidence from Crossed Races — Similarity existing between
Savages and Children — Language of Savages — Tendency to Redu-
plications — Ancient Caremonies and Modern Games — Development
of the Individual, and that of the Species

4J)0

NOTES
INDEX

625

!»;

HlV'

ILLUSTRATIONS.

■*©•-

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

PI.ATF

FrontispircR— ViRW OF StONEHENaE. FrotD an original drawing
by M. Griset To face Title

I. Sketch of Mammoth, on n piece of ivory, fuund in the Rock-

sheltor at La Madeleine, in the Dordogno . . . To face

II. Fkejefjin Modes of Drkssiko the Hair. After Williams. 'Fiji

and the Fijians,' p. 158 To face

PAOR

III. Indian Sacred Stones. After Forbes Leslie. ' Early Races of

Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 464 To face 304

IV. A Human Sacrifice in Tahiti. After Cook .

. To face .366

V. Qrocf of Sacred Stones in the Dbkhan. After Forbes Leslie.

•Early Races of Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 460 . . . To face 370

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES.

no.

1, Group of Reindeer. From a photograph presented to me by

M. lo Marquis do Vibraye 42

2-4. Drawings on Esquimaux Bone Dbillbotvs. Presented to the

Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, by Captain Bcechey . . 43

5. North American Inutan Census Roll. After Schoolcraft. ' His-

tory of the Indian Tribes,' vol. ii. p. 222 ^tQ

6. Indian Gravepost. After Schoolcraft. 'History of the Indian

Tribes,' vol. i. p. 356 61

7. Indian Gravkpost. After Schoolcraft. ' History of the Indian

Tribes,' vol. i. p. 356 51

•ml'

xvi USr OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

KID. PA(IK

H. IxniAV Hauk liKTTun. After Soh(X)Icraft. • History .^f the Indian

TribcM,' vol. i. p. 338 Tt'l

t). Indian IUhk Lkttku. After Schoolcraft. 'History of tlio Indian

Tribes; vol. i. p. 330 64

10. IvDiAN IhooRAriiv. After Schoolcraft. 'History of the Indian

Tribus,' vol. i. p. 330 63

11. Indian Pktition. After ychooicruft. 'History of the Indian

Triljes.'vol. i. p. 416 50

12. Cabolinb Islakdkr. After Freycinct. ' Voyage autour du Monde,'

pi. 67 07

13. New Zealand Head. After Freycinot. ' Voyage autour du Monde,'

pi. 107 68

14. New Zealand Head. After Freycinet. ' Voyage autour du Monde,'

pi. 107 68

16-17. SHoni.DER-nLADEs PHKPAUED FOB DiviNATioN. After Klcmm. 'AH.

Cultur. d. Mens,' vol. iii. p. 200 238

18. A Sacred Dance of the Viroinians. Lafitau, vol. ii. p. 136 . 264

19. AooYE. An Idol OF Wi 'DDAU. Astley's ' Col. of Voyugps/ vol. iii.

p. 60 268

20. Sacbed Stones. Feejee lilands. Williams, loc. cit. vol. i. p. 220 . 310

I I <

LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WOPvKS QUOTED
IN THIS VOLUME.

•

238

•

254

1. iii.

268

20 .

310

Atlchmg, MitliridiitcB.

Allen and ThoniHoii, Expod. to tlio

Wivov Niger.
Arivgo, Niirrativo of a Voyage round

the World.
ArbuusHi't and Dminias. Tour at tlio

Cijio ot Good JIopo.
A.siiilii! Itfsertrclirs.
Astlcy, Colli'ction of Voynpfos.
Atkinson, Oritiital and Western Silieria.

„ I'pp'T anil Lower A moor.
Azara, Voyages dans rAniuri(^ue Ale-

ridionulc.

Kachofen, Diis Mnttorrocht.

Jfaikit!, Kxploring Voyage up the Ilivors

Kwora and I3inue.
Bain, Mental and Moral Suionco.
13akcr, Albert Nyanza.

„ Nile Trilnitarios of Abyssinia.
I'ancroft, Native IIjiccs of Pacific States.
Uarth, Travels in Central Africa.
IJattel, The Strange Adventures of (Pin-

kerton's Voyages and Travels),
Eeechey, Narrative of a Voyage to the

Pacific.
liDsman, Description of Guinea (Pin-

kerton's Voyages and Travels).
Jlrutt, Indian Tribes of Guiana,
J'rouke, Liipland.
]>ruce. Travels in Aby.«sinia.
lUircliill, Trave' i in Southern Africa.
Uurton, Lake Regions of Africa.

„ I'^irst Footsteps in Africa.

„ Abbeokuta and the Camuroii
Mountains,

„ City of the Saints.

„ Mission to the King of Dahonie.

Caillie, Travels to Timbnctoo,
Callaway, Religious System of the

Aniazulu.
Campbell, Tales of the West Highlands.

„ Wild Tribes of Khoudistan.
CarviT, Travels in North America.
Casjilis, The Uasutos.
Catlin, North .Vmurican Indians.
Chapman, Travels in S. Africa.
Charlevoix, History of Paraguay.
Clarke, Travels.
Collins, Knglish Colony in New South

Wales.
Cook, Voyage round the World. (In
Ifawkos worth's Voyages.)

„ Second Voyage towards the South
Pob.>.

„ Thiol Voyage to the Pacific
Ocean.
Cox, Manual of Mythology,
Crantz, History of Greenland.

Drtlton, Descriptive Ethnology of

IJengal.
Dalzel, Hist, of Dahomy.
Darwin, Animals and Plants nnder
Domestication.

„ Origin of Species.

„ Researches in Geology and
Natural History.
Davis (Dr. J. R), Thesaurus Craniorum.
Davis, The Chinese.
Davy, .Vccount of Ceylon.
Dcane, Worship of the Serpent traced

throughout the World.
De Brusses, Du Culle des Dieux fetiches.
Do Hell, Steppes of the Caspian Sea.
Denham, Travels in Africa.

XVUI

LIST OF WORKS QUOTED.

«rti

Th-pond, Tri'voltt in PftutJi Amorii'u.
]*iiiN, Dio-iiiiiariu (lii LiiiKOii Tu|iy.
!>i<'ffriilmc|i, New Zualiiml.
l»<iliri/.liiifl«!r, llintdry of the AliiiionPB.
Drury, AilvcnturtN in MiKliigiciMr.
Diilxiiit, DuHcriptiuii uf iho Puuplo uf

India.
Dunn, 'J'lio Oregon Torrifory.
Duluuro, Ilidtuiro iilji^geu duH dinurcnU

t'ultcK.
Dn|)iiiH, Juurniil uf n RcHJilenco in

AHllUlltOO.

D'Urvillo, Voj-iigo nu PiMi' sud.

Karlo, RpBidcnct' in New Zfnland.

I'igiilo, Urcunlaiid.

KlliH, Three ViNits to Madngnscnr,

„ J'olynoHian Kt-scarclius.
ICrninn, TrarolM in Silioria.
la-Nkinc, WcHtern Piicirtc.
l'i)'ro, Discuverios in Central Australia.

I'arriir, Origin of Language.

,, Primitive Mannurs and Customs,
rprpufson, Trt'o and Serpent Worship.
iMtzroy, Voyage of the 'Adventure'

and ' BoMglc*
I'orbofl Leslie, Early Races of Scothind.
I'urster, Observations made during a

Voyage round the World.
Forsyth, Highlands of Central India.
Franklin, Journey to the Shores of the

Polar Sea.
Frastr, Travels in Koordistan and Me-
sopotamia.

„ Tour to the Ilimalaya Moun-
tiius.
J'"ri'ycinet, Voyage autour du Monde.

Gaius, Commentaries on Roman Liiw.

Oalton, Tropical South Africa.

Gania, Dcacripeion historica y crono-

lofiiea de las Pedras de Mexico.
Garci lasso de la Vega, Commentaries of

the Yncas.
Gardner, Faiths of the World.
Gibbs(II. H.), Romance of the Chevelere

Assigne.
Girard-Teulon, L)i Mire chcz certains

Peuples de I'Antiquite.
Gladstone, Juvcntus Mundi.

Oogtiet, D« rOrigine dcN I/j!h, doa Artw,

ft di'M MeienceM.
Oraab, Voyagr to Orpenland.
Gray, Travi'U in Western Africa.
Gny (Sir 0.), Polynmian Mythology.
„ Journal of Two Kx|io(li-

tions of Discovery in North- wi'»t and

Western Ausir.ilia.

Iliile, Kthnology of the United Stales
Exploring Kxpoilition.
„ Ethnology and Philology,
Ilallam, History of England.
Hamilton, Account of the Kingdom of

Nepaul.
1 fan way. Travels in Persia.
Hayi'H, Open Polar Sea.
llawkesworth, Voyages of Discovery in

the Southern Hemisphere.
Ilearne, Voyage to the Northern

Ocean.
Herodotus.

Hooper, Tents of the Tnski.
Humboldt, Personal Researches.
Hunter, Comparative Dictionary of the
Non - Arj'an Languages of
India and High Asia.

„ The Annals of Rural Bengal.
Hume, Essays.

„ History of England.

Inman, Ancient Faiths in Ancient
Names.

James, Expedition to the Rocky Moun-
tains.

Jones, Antiquities of the Southern
Indians.

Journal of the Royal Institution.

Jukes, Voyage of the ' Fly.'

Kamcs, History of Man.

Kenrick, Phoenicia.

Keppel, Visit to the Indian Archipelago.

„ Expedition to Borneo.
Klemm, AUgemeine Culturgcschichte
der Menschheit.

„ Werkzenge und Waffen.
Koelle, Polyglotta Africana.
Kolben, History of the Cape of Good

Hope.

LIST OF WOliKS QrOTKT).

XIX

In, (Ion Arth,

Ifricft.
tytliolopty.

wo l']x|)0<li>

itod BtatoK
)n.

vy.

IvingJom of

'iHcovory in

Nui-tbcrn

lioa.

iiiry of the
gtingeH uf
siu.
Bengal.

Anciont

ty Moun-
Suutheru
on.

liiwlago.
cschiclite
1.
of Good

Kcillf. Voyupo nf tlio ' Duurgii,*
K<il/.eljn<', Voyitgo round tlu- World.

Iwil'iit, VoviiKo Hill IIoi dc rAm^riquo.
LiiKilliirdiiTo, Voyage in Soiirch of lti\

IVrouHi'.
Liflliiu.Mii'iirHiK'sHmivnRoitiinii'rlcHins.
LiiinI, Kxpudition into tho IiiU-rior of

Afrii'ti.
liii'idor (II. ftnl J.). NiRor KxiK'dition.
I.iiiK, Aborigiiii'd of Austniliii.
Ijalliiiiii, I)i'NtTi|)tivu KtliiKilogy.
Licky, History of IJiifionuliwin.
Lt'wiu, Hill Trncf8 of Chit tusonpf.

„ Wild Itiii'os of 8ouili-cii8tt,'rn
Iiuliii.
Lii'litcnstoin, Trnvpls in Soutli Africa.
J<ivii)g8tono, MiHHiormry TravolH luul
Uoscarclifs in South' Africa.
„ Expt'ilition to tho ZanibcNi.
Loeko, On tln' Humnn Undorstunding.
liUiplKK'k, rrrhiHtoric Tiinew.
Lyon, Journal during the Voyngo of

Captain Parry.

McGillivray, Voyage of tho 'Battle-

Hniikc'
Maclean, Compondium of Kaffir Luwh

and Customs.
M'Lcnnan, Primitive Marriage.
MciMahon, Tho Karena of tho Golden

Chcrsoneso,
Maine, Ancient Law.
Marco Polo, Travels of.
Marsdon, History of Sumatra.
Mariner, Tonga Islands.
Hartius, Von doni Rechtszustando unter

den Ureinwohncrn Bmsilicns.
Mcrolla, Voyage to Congo (Pinkerton's

Voyages and Travels).
Metz, Tribes of the Neilgherrios.
Mctlahkatl.ih, published by the Church

Missionary Society.
Middendorf, Sibirische Reise.
Mollhausen, Journey to the Pacific.
Monboddo, Origin and Progress of Liin-

guago.
Montesquieu, Esprit des Lois.
!Mo!<er, The Caucasus and its People.
Moor, Notices of the Indian Archi-
pelago.

Morgan, P^»o. Acad. Nal. Hoi. Phila-

di'l|Jiia.
Moulict, TravelH in iho Central Parii

of Indo-Chiim.
Miillor (C. ().), Scientific Mytholngy.
„ (C. .S.), Description do toutis Ics
Nations dt* rilinpirodo Hui^mc.
„ (1''. O.), (Icschiciitt' dor Auiurj-

kiinischon Urnligionen.
„ (Max), CiiipM from a Uerninn

Worksliop.
H „ Lectures on Language,

l'"irht .SorioH.
„ „ Lectures on Litiguage,

Second Scries,

Nilsson, On tho Stonu Age.

Olau.H Magnus.
Ortolan, Jubtininn.

Pallas, Voyages on different es Provinces
do THnipiru de Rtissie.
„ Voyages ontrepris dans les (5ou-
vernements nieridioiiaus du
r Empire do Russiu.
Park, Travels.
Parkyns, Life in Abyssinia.
PeroUHo, La, Voyage autour dn M(jiide.
Petherick, Egypt, tho Soudan, and

Central Africa.
Phear, Tho Aryan Village.
Pliny, Natural History.
Post, Die Anfiinge des Staats und
Rechtslebens.
„ Dor Ursprung des Reehts.
„ Die Geschleciits gonossciisehaft.
,, liausteine fiir cine allgeineine

Reehts wissenschaft.
„ Einleitung in eino Naturwissen-
schaft des Reehts.
Pregcvaisky, From Kulga to Lob Nor,
Prcseott, History of Mexico.

„ History of Pern.
Prichard, Natural History of Man.
Proceedings of the American Academy

of Arts and Sciences.
Proceedings of tiio lioston Society of

Natural ifihtory.
Proyart, History uf Loancjo (Pinkerton's
Voyiigcs and Travels).

<^l

i I

liflV

LIST OF WORKS QUOTED.

Riifflcs, History of Java.

Ili!jH)rt of Coniniittte of Legislative
Couueil of Victoria on the Abori-
gines.

Roade, Savage Africa.

Itenan, Origine du Langago.

Kichiirdson, Journal of a Uoat Journey.

liink, Oreenlaad.

Eobortson, History of America.

Ross, Voyage to Baffin's Bay.

Kutimcyer, Be 'ir. zur Kunutuiss der
fossilen Pferdo.

Sehcrzcr, Voyage of the ' Novara.'
Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes.
Seenian, A Mission to Viti.
Siiooter, Kafirs of Natal.
Shortland, Traditions and Superstitions

of tlio Now Zealandors.
Smith (A.), Theory of Mural Sentiments,
and Dissertation on the Orif^in
of Langnagcs.
„ (G.), (Biahop of Victoria), Ten
Weeks in Japan.

„ (I.), History of Virginia.

„ (W.), Voyage to Guim.i.
Smithsonian Reports.
Suowden and Prall, Grammar of the

Mpongwo Language. New York.
Speke, Discovery of the Source of the

Nile.
Spencer (H.), Principles of Sociology.

„ and Dr. Duncan, Descriptive
Sociology.
Spencer's Principles of Biology.
Spiers, Life in Ancient India.
Spix and Martins, Travels in Brazil.
Sproat, Scenes and Studies of Savage

Life.
Squiers, Serpent Symbol in America.
Stephens, South Australia.
Stevenson, Travels in South America.
Stvahlenlierg, Description of Russia,

Siberia, and Great Tartary.
Systems of Land Tenure. Published

by the Ccbdea Club.

Tacitus.

Tanner, Narrative of a Captivity among

tlie North American Indians.
Taylor, Now Zealand and its luhabil-

ants.
Tertre, History of the Caribby Islands.
Tindall, Grammar and Dictionary of

the Namaqua (Hottentot) Ljinguage.
Transactions of the Americ. Antiq. Soc.
Transactions of the Ethnological Soc.
Tran*;actioiiS of the R. S. of Victoria.
Tuckcy, Expedition to explore River

Zaire.
Turner, Nineteen Years in Polynesia.
Tylor, Anahuac.

„ Early History of Man.

Upham, History and Doctrine of Buddh-
ism in Ceylon.

Vancouver, A'oyage of Discovery.
Vogt, Lectures on 3Ian.

Waitz, Anthropologic der Naturvolker.
Wake, Chapters on Man.
Wallace, Travels in the Amiizons and
Rio Negro.

„ Malay Archipelago.
Wa'ison and Kaye, The People of India.
Wedgwootl, Introduction to tlic Diction-
ary of theEnglisii Language.
,, Origin of Language.
Whatcly (Archbishop of Dublin),

Political Economy.
Whipple, Report on the Indian Tribes.
Whitney, Language, and the Science of

Language.
Wilkes, United States Exploring Expe-
dition.
Williams, Fiji and the Fijians.
Wood, Natural History of Man.
Wrangel, Siberia and the Puhir Sea.
Wriglit, Superstitions of I'^nglaud.
Wuttke, Die ersfen Stufen der Gesuli.

der Menschheit.

Yato, New Zealand.

■I
4

tivity among

iiilUH.

its luhiibit-

bby Islamls.
'ictionary of
t) Liingiiage.
. jViitiq. Soc.
OGjical Soc.
f Victoria,
;plore Kiver

Polynesia.

ueofBuddh-

overy.

THE OllIGIN OF CIVILISATION

<^C.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

fiiturvolker.
niiizoiis and

ilo of India,
tlic Diction-
Language,
igo.

Dublin),

ian Tribes.
Science of

oring Expe-

,ns.
.\n,

liir Soa.
;laucl.
del" Gcscli.

riTHE study of the lower races of men, apart from the
J- direct importance which it possesses in an empire
like ours, is of great interest from three points of view.
In the first place, the condition and habits of existing
savages resemble in many ways, though not in all,
those of our own ancestors in a period now long gone
by : ^ in the second, they illustrate nmch of what is
passing amimg ourselves — many customs which have
evidently no relation to present circumstances ; and
some ideas which are rooted in our minds, as fossils
are imbedded in the soil : while, thirdly, we can
even, by means of them, penetrate some of that mist
which separates tie present from the future.

In fact, the lower races of men in various parts of

' 1 am very jrlad to find that so the general conclusions at which I

able and c^-utious a critic as IMr. have arrived. See his Phys.'js and

Biij^ehot has expressed his assent to Politics, 1872, especially the ex-

the line of argument here used, and celleut chapter on ' Nation-making.'

^ B

■S'\

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT.

Kill

^l"r;;

the world present us with illustrations of a social con-
dition ruder, and more archaic, than any which history
records as having ever existed among the more ad-
vanced races. Even among civilised peoples, however,
we find traces of former barbarism. Not only is
language in this respect very instructive ; but laws
and customs are often of very ancient origin, and con-
tain symbols which are the relics of former realities.
Thus the use of stone knives in certain Egyptian cere-
monies points to a time when that people habitually
used stone implements. Again, the form of marriage
by coemptio iimong the Komans indicates a period in
their history when they hab'tually bought wives, as
so many savage tribes do noAV. So also the form of
capture in weddings can only be explained by the
hypothesis that the capture of wives was once a stern
reality. In such cases as tliese the sequence is obvious.
Tlie use of stone knives in certain ceremonies is evi-
dently a case of survival, not of invention ; and in the
same way tlie form of capture in weddings would
naturally survive the actual reality, while we cannot
suppose that the reality would rise out of the symbol.

It must not be assumed, however, that the condi-
tion of primitive man is correctly represented by even
the lowest of existing races. The very fact that the
latter have remained stationary, that their manners,
habits, and mode of life have continued almost unaltered
for generations, has created a strict, and often compli-
cated, system of customs, from which the former was
necessarily free, but which has in some cases gradually
jicquircd even more than the force of law. In order,
then, to arrive at a clear idea of this primitive con-

NATURE OF THE EVIDENCE.

^ial con-

L history

ore ad-

lowever,

only is

Lit laws

md con-

'ealities.

an cere-

bitiially

larriaffe

eriod in

ves, as

form of

by the

a stern

bvious.

is evi-

in the

would

cannot

nbol.

condi-

y even

at the

nners,

iltered

mipli-

r Avas

lually

Drder,

con-

dition of the human race, we must eliminate these
customs from our conception of that condition ; and
this we are best enabled to do by a comparison of
savajre tribes belongrins: to different families of the
human race.

Although the differences of race, of geographical
position, and of their general surroundings, have neces-
sarily led to considerable divergencies in the social and
mental development of different tribes, still I have en-
deavoured to show that, in the main, the development
of higher and better ideas as to Marriage, Relationships,
Law, Religion, &c., has followed in its earlier stages a
very similar course even in the most distinct races of
man ; and when we find customs and ideas which to us
seem absurd or illogical, reappearing in separate families
of mankind at the same stage of development, we may
safely conclude that, however absurd they may appear
to us, they rest on some ground which once appeared
sufficient, and are no unmeaning or insignificant acci-
dents. It has been said by some writers that savages
are merely the degenerate descendants of more civilised
ancestors, and I am far from denying that there are
cases of retrogression. But, in the first place, a tribe
which had sunk from civilisation into barbarism would
by no means exhibit the same features, as one which
had risen into barbarism from savagery. And, what is
even more important, races which fall back in civilisa-
tion diminish in numbers. Tjie whole history of man
shows how the stronger and progressive increase in
numbers, and drive out the weaker nnd lower races. I
have endeavoured, for instance, to show that the ideas
on the subject of relationships which are prevalent

B "2

EVIDEyCE OF rJWGJiESS.

atnong the less advanced races, would naturally arise in
the course of progress, but are inconsistent with the
theory of degradation. So, again, a people who trusted
in luck would have no chance in the struggle for exis-
tence against one which believed in law : if we find a
belief in fetichism interwoven with the religion of even
the highest races, it is because these races were Fetichists
before tliey became Buddhist, Mahometan, or Christian.
A tribe in which the feeling of relationship was weak
and ill-defined would be at a <»Teat disadvantuj^e
as compared with one in which the family feeling was
strong. Henci*, although we are very far as yet from
having arrived at such a result, I believe it will be
possible for us to realise to ourselves a condition
through which our ancestors must have passed in pre-
historic times — one more primitive than any of which
we have at present an actual example.

At any rate it cannot be doubted that the careful
study of manners and customs, traditions and supersti-
tions, will eventually solve many difficult problems of
Ethnology. This mode of research, however, requires
to be used with great caution, and has in fact led to
many erroneous conclusions. For instance, in more
than one case savage races have been regarded as de-
scendants of the Ten Tribes, because their customs
offered some singular points of resemblance with those
recorded in the Pentateuch. In these cases, a wider
accpiaintancc with the mauners and customs of savage
races would have shown that these coincidences, so
far from l)ein<:\ as supposed, peculiar to these tribes,
were, in fact, common to several, if not to all, of the prin-
cipal races of mankind. Much careful study will, there-

■V.

■■■J?

DIFFICULTY OF THE S^RJECT.

arise in
^ith the

trusted
or exis-
e find a
of even
itichists
iristian.
IS weak
vantage
ng was
it from
will be
ndition
in pre-
" which

careful

ipersti-

ems of

squires

led to

as de-

istoms

those

wider

savaii^e

es, so

;rihes,

prin-

;here-

fore, be required before this class of evidence can be

illy

doubt r
will be found most instructive.

The study of savage life is, moreover, as I have
already observed, of peculiar importance to ns, forming,
as we do, part of a great empire, with colonies in every
l)art of the world, and fello'.^-citizens in many stages of
civilisation. Of this our Indian possessions afford us a
good illustration. ' We have studied the lowland popu-
lation,' says Mr. Hunter,^ ' as no conquerors ever studied
or understood a subject race. Iheir history, their ha^ ' •>;,
their requirements, their very weaknesses and preju-
dices are known, and furnish a basis for those political
inductions which, under the titles of administrative
foresight and timely reform, meet popular movements
half-way. The East India Company grudged neither
honours nor solid rewards to any meritorious effort to
illustrate the peoples whom it ruled.'

' The practical result now appears. English ad-
ministrators understand the Aryan, and are almost
totally ignorant of the non-Aryan, population of
India. They know with remarkable precision how a
measure will be received by the higher or purely
Aryan ranks of the community ; they can foresee
with less certainty its effect upon the lower or semi-
Aryan classes, but they neither know nor venture to
predict the results of any line of action among the
non-Aryan tribes. Political calculations are impos-
sible withou c a knowledge of the people. But the evil
does not stop here. In the void left by ignorance,
prejudice has taken up its seat, and the calamity of

^ Non- Aryan Languages of India, p. 2.

DIFFICULTY OF TUB SUBJECT.

' tlie noil -Aryan races is not merely that they are not
' understood, but that they are misrepresented.'

Well, therefore, has it been observed by Sir Henry
Maine, in his excellent work on * Ancient Law,' that,
even if they gave more trouble than they do, no painr
would be wasted in ascertaining the germs out of
which has assuredly been unfolded every form of
moral restramt which controls our actions and shapes
our conduct at the present moment. The rudiments
of the social state,' he adds, ' so far as they are known
to us at all, are known through testimony of three
sorts — accounts by contemporary observers of civilisa-
tions less advanced than their own, the records which
particular races have preserved concerning their primi-
tive history, and ancient law. The first kind of evi-
dence is the best we could have expected. As societies
do not advance concurrently, but at different rates of
progress, there have been epochs at which men trained
to habits of methodical observation have really been
in a position to watch and describe the infancy of
mankind.' ^ He refers particularly to Tacitus, whom
he praises for having ' made the most of such an oppor-
tunity; ' adding, however, ' but the " Germany," unlike
most celebrated classical books, has not induced others
to follow the excellent example set by its author, and
the amount of this sort of testimony which we possess
is exceedingly small.'

This is, however, I think, far from being really the
case. At all epochs some ' men trained to habits of
' methodical observation have really been in a position
' to watch and describe the infancy of mankind,' and

' Maine's Ancient Law, p. 120,

MENTAL COKDITTON OF SAVAaES.

are not

' Henry

i^,' that,

10 painr

out of

brm of

shapes

iiments

known

>f three

iivilisa-

3 which

■ primi-

of evi-

ocieties

ates of

trained

y been

ncy of

whom

oppor-

unlike

others

and

•r

•ossess

ly the
jits of
sition
,' and

the testimony of our modern traveUcrs is of the same
nature as that for which we are indebted to Tacitus.

It must, however, be admitted that our information
with reference to the social and moral condition of the
lower races of man is certainly very far from being
satisfactory, either in extent or in accuracy. Travellers
naturally find it far easier to describe the houses, boats,
food, dress, weapons, and implements of savages, than
to understand their thoughts and feelings. The whole
mental condition of a savage is so different from ours,
that it is often very difficult to follow what is passing
in his mind, or to understand the motives by which he
is influenced. Many things appear natural and almost
self-evident to him, which produce a very different im-
pression on us. ' What ! ' said a negro to Burton, ' am
' I to starve, while my sister has children whom she can
'sell?'

When the natives of the Lower Murray first saw
pack oxen, some of them were frightened and took them
for demons ' with spears on their heads,' while others
thought they were the wives of the settlers, because
they carried the baggage.^

Though savages always have a reason, such as it is,
for what they do and what they believe, their reasons
often are very absurd. Moreover, the difficulty of
ascertaining what is ^^assing in their minds is of course
much enhanced by the difficulty of communicating
with them. This has produced many laughable mis-
takes. Thus, when Labillardiere enquired of the
Friendly Islanders the word for 1,000,000, they seem
to have thought the question absurd, and answered him

' Taplin, The Narinyeri, p. 53.

ERRORS ARISING FROM

iifi

l)y a word wliich ai)piirently lias no iiicaniii<!; ; when he
asked for 10,000,000, they said ' laoalai,' wliich I will
leave unexi)lained ; for 100,000,000. ' laounoiia,' that is
to say, ' nonsense ; ' while for the higher numbers they
gave him certain coarse expressions, which he has
gravely published in his table of numerals.

A mistake made by Dampier led to more serious
results. He had met some Australians, and appre-
hending an attack, he says : — ' I discharged my gun to
' scare them, but avoided shooting any of them ; till
' finding the young man in great danger from them,
' and myself m somC; and that though the gun had a
' little frightened them at first, yet they had soon learnt
' to despise it, tossing up their hands, and crying " Pooh,
'"pooh, pooh!" and coming on afresh with a great
' noise, I thought it high time to charge again, and
' shoot one of them, which I did. The rest, seeing him
' fall, made a stand again, and my young man took the
' opportunity to disengage himself, and come oiF to me ;
' my other man also was with me, who had done nothing
' all this while, having come out unarmed ; and I re-
' turned back with my men, designing to attempt the
' natives no farther, being very sorry for what had
' happened already.' ^ ' Pooh, pooh,' Iiowever, or ' puff,
' puiF,' is the name which savages, like children, natu-
rally apply to guns.

Another source of error is, that savages are often
reluctant to contradict what is said to them. Living-
stone calls special attention to this as a character-
istic of the natives of Africa.^ Mr. Oldfield,^ again.

* Pinkerton's Voyages, vol. xi. p. 473. '^ Expedition to the Zambesi, p. 309.

3 Trans. Etbn. Soc, N.S., vol. iii. p. 255.

ICNOnAXCE OF LANGUAJE.

when he

1 I will i

' that is

ers they ■]

he has ]

serious

appre -

gun to

m ; till

1 them, 1

had a \

I learnt i

' Pooh,

I great ^

n, -find I

ng him j

)ok the i

to me ; ^

othinff 1

-si

I I re- 1

pt the 1

it had 1

' pnflP, 1

natu- 1

often i
iviufv. s

'acter- J

again, |

, p. 309. 1

speaking of the Australians, tells us : — ' I have found
' this habit of non-contradiction to stand very much
' in my way when making enquiries of them, for, as
' my knowledge of their language was only sufficient
'to enable me to seek information on some points
'by i)utting suggestive questions, in which they im-
' mediately concurred, I was frequently driven nearly
' to my wits' end to arrive at the truth. A native once
' brought me in some si)ecimens of a species of euca-
' lyptus, and being desirous of ascertaining the habit of
' the i)lant, I asked, " A tall tree ? " to which his ready
' answer was in the affirmative. Not feeling quite
' satisfied, I again demanded, " A low bush ? " to which
' " Yes," was also the response.'

Again, the mind of the savage, like that of the child,
is easily fatigued, and he will then give random answers,
to spare himself the trouble of thought. Speaking of
the Ahts (X.W.America), Mr. Sproat^ says: — 'The
' native mmd, to an educated man, seems generally to
' be asleep ; and if you sudderdy ask a novel question,
' you have to repeat it while the mind of the savage is
' awaking, and to speak with emphasis until he has
' quite got your meaning. This may partly arise from
' the questioner's imperfect knowledge of the language ;
' still, I think, not entirely, as the savage may be
' observed occasionally to liccome forgetful when volun-
' tarily communicating information. On his attention
'being fully aroused, he often shows much quickness
'in reply and ingenuity in argument. But a short
' conversation wearies him, particularly if questions are
' asked that require efforts of thought or memory on

' Scenes and Studies of Savage Life, p. 120.

AliJECT CONDITION OF THE

■1 ••

. I

' Ills part. Tlic mind of the savage then appears to
' rock to and fro out of mere weakness, and he tells lies
' and talks nonsense.'

' I frequently enquired of the negroes,' says Park,
' what became of the sun during the nigiit, and whether

* we should see the same sun, or a different one, in the
' morning ; but I found that they considered the ques-

* tion as very childish. The subject appeared to them
' as placed beyond the reach of human investigation ;
' they had never indulged a conjecture, nor formed any
' hypothesis, about the matter.' ^

Such ideas are, in fact, entirely beyond the mental
range of the lower savages, whose extreme mental in-
feriority we have much difficulty in realising.

Speaking of the wild men in the interior of Borneo,
Mr. Dalton '^ says that they are found living ' absolutely
' in a state of nature, who neither cultivate the ground
' nor live in huts ; who neither eat rice nor salt, and who
' do not associate with each other, but rove about some
' woods, like wild beasts ; the sexes meet in the jungle,
' or the man carries away a woman from some campong.

* When the children are old enough to shift for them-

* selves, they usually separate, neither one afterwards
' thinking of the other. At night they sleep under some
' large tree, the branches of which hang low ; on
' these they fasten the children in a kind of swing ;
' around the tree they make a fire to keep off the wild
' beasts and snakes. They cover themselves with a piece
' of bark, and in this also they wrap their children ; it
' is soft and warm, but will not keep out the rain. The

* Park's Travels, vol. i. p. 265. Archipelago, p. 49. See also Keppel's
'^ Moor's Notices of the Indian Expedition to Borneo, vol. ii. p. 10.

LOWEST RACES OF MEN.

)pcar8 to
tells lies

ys Park,
whether
e, in tlie
lie qiies-
to them
igation ;

ned

any

mental
ntal in-

Borneo,

solutely

ground

nd who

t some

jungle,

npong.

them-

rwards
T some

^ ; on

wing;
3 wild

■S-

a piece

1.
.""V

Bn ; it

The

feppel's
p. 10.

' poor creatures are looked on and treated by the other
* Dyaks as wild beasts.'

Lichtenstein describes a IJiishman as presenting 'the
' true physiognomy of the small blue ai)e of Calfraria.
' What gives tlie more verity to such a comparison was
' tlie vivacity of his eyes, and tlie flexibility of his eye-
' brows. . . . Even his nostrils and the corners of
' his mouth, nay his very ears, moved involuntarily.
' . . . There was not, on the contrary, a single
' feature in his countenance that evinced a consciousness
' of mental powers.' ^

Under these circumstances it cannot be wondered at
that we have most contradictory accounts as to the cha-
racter and mental condition of savages. Nevertheless,
by comparing together the accounts of different tra-
vellers, we can to a great extent avoid these sources of
error ; and we are very much aided in this by the re-
markable similarity between different races. So striking,
indeed, is this, that different races in similar stages of
development often present more features of resemblance
to one a'^other than the same race does to itself in differ-
ent stages of its history.

Some ideas, which seem to us at first inexplicable
and fantastic, are yet very widely distributed. Thus
among many races a woman is absolutely forbidden
to speak to her son-in-law. Franklin^ tells us that
among the American Indians of the far North ' it is
' considered extremely improper for a mother-in-law to
' speak or even look at him ; and when she has a com-
' munication to make to him it is the etiquette that she

' Lichtenstein, vol. ii. p. 224.

- Journey to the Shoi-es of the Polar Sea, vol. i. p. 137.

I'll

■*.T

12 CUJiWUS CUSTOMS WITH JiEFEniCXCE TO

•If

'<t .

' sliould turn lier hack upon liim, and addrcsH hiiii only
' throii<^h tlu3 mcidiiun of a tliird jjcrson.'

FiirtluT south, anioii«^ t])c Omaluiws, * neither tlie
' fnthor-in-hiw nor motlier-indnw will hold (Uiy direct
' coininunicalion with their son-in-law ; nor will he, on
' any occasion, or under any consideration, converse irn-
'mediately with them, although no ill-will exists In'tween
' them ; they will not, on any account, mention each
' other's name in company, nor look in each other's faces ;
* any conversation that passes hetween them is con-
' ducted through the medium of some other person.' ^
Harmon says that among the Indians east of the
iiocky Mountains the same rule prevails, l^aegert^
mentions that among the Indians of California ' the
' son-in-law was not allowed, for some time, to look
'into the face of his mother-in-law, or his wife's nearest
' relations, hut had to step on one side, or to hide
' himself Avhen these women were present.'

Lafitau,® indeed, makes the same statements as re-
gards the North An "'-'can Indians generally. We find
it among the Crees and Dacotahs, and again in Florida.
Rochefort mentions it among the Caribs, and in South
America it recurs among the Arawaks.

In Asia, among the Mongols and Kalmucks, a woman
must not speak to her father-in-law nor sit down in his
presence. Among the Ostiaks of Siberia,* ' une fille

' James's Expedition to the
llocky Mountains, vol. i. p. 232.

^ Account of California, 1773.
Translated by C. Rau, in Smith-
sonian Rep. for 18G3-4, p. 308.

^ Moeurs des Sauvages Am^ri-
cains, vol. i. p. 670.

* Pallas, vol. iv. pp. 71, 577.
lie makes the same statement with
reference to the Samoyedes, loc. cit.
p. 99. See also Miiller, Description
de toutes les Nations de I'Empire de
Russia, pt. i. pp. 191-203; pt. ii.
p. 104.

liiu only

ther tlio
ly direct
II he, on
erse iin-
Iwtwooii
ion eacli
•'« faces ;
is con-

MOTllEUS.lS-LAW.

\\\

lerson.

» 1

of the

^aogert ^

nia 'the

to look

neai'est
to hide

s as re-
^^e find
^^lorida.
South

woman

in his

le fille

71, 577.
ent with
loc, cit.
scription
npire de
pt. ii.

' nuiric'e ovite aiitanl (ju'il liii est [xwsible hi i)resencedu
' pi're de son inuri, tant ([u'elle n'a paw d'enlant ; et le
' niuri, pendant ee teinp.s, n'ose i)aH paroitre devant la
' mere de sa femnie. S'il.s se rencontrent par hasard, L
' mari lui tourne le dos, et la femine se eouvre le visa«^e.
' On ne doune point de nom aux filles ostiakes ; lors-
' mi'elles sont mariees, les homnies les noiinnent /////,
' feinmes. Les feninies, par respect pour leurs maris,
' ne les ai)pellent pas par Icur nom j elles se servent du
' nu)t de TaJiC^ honnnes.'

In China, according to Duhalde, the father-in-law,
after the wedding day, ' never sees the face of his
' daughter-in-law again ; he never visits her,' and if they
chance to meet he hides himself.^ A similar custom
prevails in IJorneo and in the Fiji Islands. In Australia,
also, Eyre states that a num must not pronounce the
name of his father-in-law, his mother-in-law, or his
son-in-law.

Dubois mentions thai in certain districts of Hmdo-
stan a woman ' is not permitted to speak to her mother-
' in-law. When any task is prescribed to her, she shows
' her acquiescence only by signs ; ' a contrivance, he
sarcastically adds, ' well adapted for securing domestic
' trancpiillity.' '^

In Central Africa, Caillie ^ observes that, 'from this
' moment the lover is not to see the father and mother
' of his future bride : he takes the greatest care to avoid
' them, and if by chance they perceive him they cover
' their faces, as if all ties of friendship were broken. I

' Astley's Collection of Voyages, ^ CailliiVs Travels to Timbuctoo,

vol. iv. p. 91. vol. i. p. !M.

- On the People of India, p. 235.

fir

1 1

■I;

' i!

MOTlIEliS-IN-Ld W.

tried in vain to discover the origin of this whimsical
custom ; the only answer I could obtain was, "It's our
"way." The custom extends beyond the relations : if
the lover is of a different camp, he avoids all the in-
habitants of the lady's camp, except a few intimate
friends whom he is permitted to visit. A little tent is
generally set up for him, under which he remains all
day, and if he is obliged to come out, or to cross the
camp, he covers his face. He is not allowed to see his
intended during the day, but, when everybody is at
rest, he creeps into her tent and remains with her till
daybreak.' Among the Kaffirs^ a married woman ' is
required to " hlonipa " her father-in-law and all her
husband's male relations in the ascending line — that
is, to be cut oif from all intercourse with them. She
is not allowed to pronounce their names, even men-
tally ; and whenever the emphatic syllable of either of
their names occurs in any other word, she must avoid
it, by either substituting an entirely new w^ord, or at
least another syllable, in its place. The son-in-law^ is
placed under certain restrictions towards his mother-in-
law. He cannot enjoy her society, or remain in the
same hut with her ; nor can he pronounce her name.'
Among the Bushmen in the far South, Chapman re-
counts exactly the same thing, yet none of these obser-
vers had any idea how general the custom is.

In Australia, among the aborigines of Victoria, ' it
' is compulsory on the mothers-in-law to avoid the sight
' of their sons-in-law, by making the mothers-in-law
' take a very circuitous route on all occasions to avoid
' being seen, and they hide the mce and figure with the

' Kaffir Laws and (Juslouis, pp. 05, 00.

•I

LA COUVADE.

liimsical
It's our
ions : if
the in-
intimate
e tent is
lains all
ross the
see his
ly is at
her till
man 'is
all her
le — that
n. She
en men-
either of
t avoid
, or at
-law is
her-in-
in the
name.*
nan re-
3 obser-

)ria, ' it
le sight
in-law
) avoid
itli the

* rucr wliich the female carries about her.' ^ So strict is
this rule, that if married men are jealous of any one,
they sometimes promise to give him a daughter in
marriage. This places the wife, according to custom,
in the position of a mother-in-law, and renders any
communication between her and her future son-in-law a
capital crime.

More or less similar customs occur among the
Dyaks, and other races, and cannot possibly be without
a cause.

Mr. Tylor, who has some very interesting remarks
on these customs in his ' Early History of Man,' observes
that ' it is hard even to guess what state of things can
' have brought them into existence,' nor, so far as I
am aware, has any one else attempted to explain
them. In the Chapter on Marriage I shall, however,
point out the manner in wliich I conceive that they
have arisen.

Another curious custom is that known in Beam
under the name of La Couvade. Probably every Eng-
lishman who had not studied other races would assume,
as a matter of course, that on the birth of a child the
mother would everywhere be put to bed and nursed.
But this is not the case. In many races the father, and
not the mother, is doctored when a baby is born.

Yet, though this custom seems so ludicrous to us, it
is very widely distributed. Commencing with South
America, Dobritzlioftcr tells us that * no sooner do you
' hear that a woman has borne a child, than you see the
' husband lying in bed, huddled up with mats and skins,

' Report of Select Committee on Aborigines, Victoria, 1850, p. 73.
■ Loc. cit. p. 78.

liEASOX FOR LA COUVAVE.

■

1
K I

lest some rLi(lc3r breath of uir sliould toueli liiiii, fasting,
kept in private, and for a number of days abstaining
religiously from certain viands : you would swear it
was he who had had the child. ... I hatl rca<l
about this in old times, and laughed at it, never think-
ing I could believe such madness, and I used to
suspect that this barbarian custom was related more
in jest than in earnest ; but at last I saw it with my
own eyes among the Abipones.'

In Brazil, among the Coroados, Martins tells us that
as soon as the Av^oman is evidently pregnant, or has
been delivered, the man withdraws. A strict regimen
is observed before the birth ; the man and the woman
refrain for a time from the flesh of certain animals, and
live chiefiy on fish and fruits.' ^

Further north, in Guiana, Mr. Brett "^ observes that
some of the men of the Acawoio and Caribi nations,
when tlioy have reason to expert an increase of their
families, consider themselves bound to abstain from
certain kinds of meat, lest the expected child should, in
some very mysterious way, be injured by their partaking
of it. The Acouri (or Agouti) is thus tabooed, lest,
like that little animal, the child should be meagre ; the
llaimara^ also, lest it should be blind — the outer coating
of the eye of that fish suggesting film or cataract; the
Lahba, lest the infant's mouth should j^rotrude like the
labba's, or lest it be spotted like the labba, which spots
would ultimately become ulcers. The Marudi is also
forbidden, lest the infant be stillborn, the screeching
of that bird being considered ominous of death.' And

' Spix's and Maitiub's Travels in * Brett's Indian Tribes ol' Guiaua,

]3razil, vol. ii. p. 247. p. 355.

LA COUVADE.

, fiisting,
istaining
swear it
latl read
V think -
used to
ed more
kvith my

s us that
, or has
regimen
: woman
nals, and

•vcs that
nations,

of their
lin from
lould, in
artaking
>ed, lest,
rre ; the

coating
•act; the

like the
^ch spots
f' is also
reeching
And

i ol' Guiaua,

■■«■

again : — ' On the birth of a child, the ancient Indian
' etiquette requires the fatlier to take to his hammock,

* where he remains some days as if he were sick, and
' receives the congratulations and condolence of his
' friends. An instance of this custom came under my

• own ol'servation, where the man, in robust health
'and excellent condition, without a single bodily
' ailment, wa^^ lyi^ig in ^^^ hammock in the most
' provoking manner, and carefully and respectfully at-
' tended by the women, while the mother of the new-
' born infant was cooking — none apparently regarding
'her!'^

Similar statements have been made by various other
travellers, including De Tertre, Giliz, Biet, Fcrmin, and
in fact almost all who have written on the natives of
South America.

In North America, Bancroft mentions the existence
of a similar custom among the natives of California
and New Mexico. Remy states that among the
Shoshones, Avhen ? woman is in labour, the husband
' also is bound to remain in seclusion, away from every
' one, even from his wife' '^ In Greenland, after a
woman is confined, the ' husband must forbtar workinij
'for some weeks, neither must they drive any ti'ade
' during that time ; ' ^ in Kamskatka, for some time
before the birth of a baby, the husband must do no
hard Avork. In South India, Mr. Tylor^ quotes Mr.
F. W. Jennings as stating that among natives of the
higher castes about Madras, Seringapatam, and on the

' Rrett, /or, cU. p. 101.

'^ Egede's Greenland, p. 190.

City, p. 120.

' Tylor's Early History of Man,
^ Journey lo the Great Salt Lake :ind ed., p. 301.

REASON FOR LA COUVADE.

^:t

Malabar Coast ' a man, at the birth of his first son or
' (laughter by the chief Avife, or for any son afterwards,
' will retire to bed for a lunar month, living principally
on a rice diet, abstaining from exciting food and from
' smoking.' In Fiji also, when a child is born, the father,
as well as the mother, is careful to abstain from eat-
ing anything which might disagree with the infant.

Similar notions occur aniong the Chinese of West
Yunnan, among the Dyaks of Borneo, in Madagascar,
or the west coast of Africa, among the Kaffirs, in the
north of Spain, in Corsica, and in the south of France,
where it is called ' faire la couvade.' While, however,
1 regard this curious custom as of much ethnological
interest, I cannot agree with Mr. Tylor in regarding
it as evidence that the races by whom it is practised
belong to one variety of the human species.^ On the
contrary, I believe tl\at it originated independently in
several distinct parts of the world.

It is of course evident that a custom so ancient, and
so widely spread, must have its origin in some idea
which satisfies the savage mind. Several explanations
have been suggested. Professor Max Midler,^ in his
' Chips from a German Workshop,' says : — ' It is clear
' tlnit the poor husband was at first tyrannised over by
'his female relatioij, and afterwards frightened into
' superstition. He then began to make a martyr of
' himself till he made himself really ill, or took to his
' bed in self-defence. Strange and absurd as the cou-
'vade appears at first sight, there is something in it
' with which, we believe, most mothers-in-law can

;-•»

•f

i 4

' Loc. c'L p. 206.

- riiips from a German Workshop, vol. ii. p. ti81.

■4

son or
f wards,
icipally
d from

father,
im eat-
nt.

f West
igascar,
, in the
France,
owever,
oloffical
rrardins?
ractised
On the
ntly in

>nt, and
lie idea
^nations
' in his
is clear
3ver by
ed into
rtyr of
c to his
le cou-
g in it
iw can

-ij

•At

SAVAGE IDEAS ON THE INFLUENCE OF FOOD. 11»

'sympathise.' Lafitau^ regards it as arising from a
dim recollection of original sin ; rejecting the Carib
and Abipon explanation, which I have little doubt is
the correct one, that they do it because they believe
that if the father engaged in any rough work, or was
careless in his diet, ' cela feroit mal u I'enfant, et que
' cet enfant participcroit a tons les defauts naturels des
' animaux dont le pere auroit mange.'

This idea — namely, that a person imbibes the
characteristics of an animal which he eats — is very
widely distributed. In India, Forsyth mentions that
]\Iahouts often give their ele})hant ' a piece of a tiger's
'liver to make him courageous, and the eyes of the
' brown horned owl to make hun see well at night.' -^
The Malays at Singapore also give a large price for the
flesh of the tiger, not because they like it, but because
they believe that the man who eats tiger ' acquires the
' sagacity as well as the courage of that animal,' ^ an
idea which occurs among several of the Indian hill
tribes.*

' The Dyaks of Borneo have a prejudice against tlie
' flesh of deer, which the men may not eat, but which
' is allowed to women and children. The reason given
*for this is, that if the warriors eat the flesh of deer
' they become as faint-hearted as that animal.' ^ ' In
' ancient times those who wished for children used to
' eat frogs, because that animal lays so many eggs.' ^

' Mceur8 des Sauvages Amt5ri- * Dalton's Des. Etlin. of IJongal,

cain?, vol. i. p. ti59, p. 33.

^ Forsyth's Highlands of Central ^ Keppel's Expedition to IJorneo,

India, p. 452. vol. i. p. 231.

•' Keppel's Visit to the Indian ^^ Iniuans Ancient Faiths in An-

Archipelago, p. 13. cient Names, p. 383.

* 'J

v^-

20 SAVAGE IDEAS ON THE IXELUENnE OF FOOD.

The Carlbs will not cat the flesh of pigs or of tor-
toises, lest their eyes should become .as small as those
of dicse animals.^ The Dacotahs eat the liver of the
clog, in order to possess the sagacity and courage of
that animal/'' The Arabs also impute the passionate
and revengeful character of their countrymen to the
use of camel's flesh.*'' In Siberia the bear is eaten under
the idea that its flesh ' gives a zest for the chase, and
' renders them proof against fear.' * The Kaflirs also
prepare a powder ' made of the dried flesh of various
' wild beasts, intending by the administering of this
' compound to impart to the men the qualities of the
' several animals.' ^

Tylor ^ mentions that an ' English merchant in
' Shanghai, at the time of the Taeping attack, met his
' Chinese servant carrying home a heart, and asked him
' whai; he had got there. He said it was the heart of a
' rebel, and that he was going to take it home and eat
' it to make him brave.' The Ncav Zealanders, after
baptising an infjuit, used to make it swallow pebbles,
so that its heart might be hard and incapable of pity.^
Even cannibalism is sometimes due to this idea, and
the New Zealanders eat their most forrrddable enemies
partly for this reason. Until quite recent times many
medical remedies were selected on this principle. It is
from the same kind of idea that ' eyebright,' because
the flower somewhat resembles an eye, was supposed
to be good for ocular complaints.

1 Miillor's Gi'.scliichte dor Amori!-
canischoii Urrelijriouen, p. ^21.

* Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes, vol.
ii. p. bO.

^ Astley's GoUection of Voyages,
vol. ii. p. 143.

■* Atkinson's Upper and Lower
A moor, p. 402.

^ Callaway's Religious System of
the Amaziilii, pt. iv. p. 438.

^ Early History of Man, p. 131.

' Yates New Zealand, p. 82

FOOD.

of tor-
as those
r of tlie
irage of
Lssionate
1 to the
}n under
ase, and
firs also
various
of this
s of the

hant in

met his

;ked him

}art of a

! and eat

rs, after

pebbles,

of pity/

lea, and

enemies

s many

. It is

because

apposed

iiid Lower

s System of

iS.'

m, p. 131.

, p. 82

SAVAOE IDEAS WITH llEFEUENCE TO rOliTUAITS. 21

To us the idea seems absurd. Not so to children.
T have myself heard a little girl say to her brother, ' If
' you cat so much goose you will be quite silly ; ' and
there are perhaps few children to whom the induction
Avould not seem perfectly legitimate.

From the same notion, the Esquimaux, ' to render
' barren women fertile or teeming, take old pieces of the
' soles of our shoes to hung aboat them ; for, as they
' take our nation to be more fertile, and of a stronger
' disposition of body than theirs, they fancy the virtue
' of our body communicates itself to our clothing.' ^

In fact, savages do not act without reason, any more
than we do, though their reasons nuiy often be bad ones
and seem to us singularly absurd. Thus they have a
great dread of having their portraits taken. The better
the likeness, the worse they think for the sitter ; so
much life could not be put into the copy, except at the
expense of the original. Once, when a good deal an-
noyed by some Indians, Kane got rid of them instantly
by threatening to draw them if they remained. Catlin
tells an amusing, but melancholy, anecdote in reference
to this feelin<>f. On one occasion he was drawin«j: a
chief named Malitocheega, in profile. This, Avhen ob-
served, excited much commotion among the Indians :
' Why was half his face left out ? ' they asked ; ' Mah-
' tocheega was never ashamed to look a white man in the
* face.' Mahtocheega himself does not seem to have
taken any offence, but Shonka, ' the Dog,' took advan-
tage of the idea to taunt him. ' The Englishman knows,'
he said, ' that you are but half a man ; he has painted
' but one half of your face, and he knows that the rest

' Egede's Greeiilaud, p. 198.

■'('*■

22 CURIOUS IDEAS WITH BEFEUENOE TO rOUTRAITS.

V ' >i

! }

' is good I'or notliing/ Tliis view of the case led to u
lif^lit, in wbicli poor Malitocliee«^a was shot ; and, as ill
luck would have it, the bullet by which he was killed
tore away just that part of the ftice which had been
omitted in the drawing.

This was very unfortunate for Mr. Catlin, who had
great difficulty in making his escape, and lived some
months after in fear of his life ; nor was the matter
settled until both Shonka and his brother had been
Killed in reven<!;c for the death of Mahtochee<>;a.

Franklin also mentions that the North American
Indians 'prize pictures very highly, and esteem any
' they can get, however badly executed, as efficient
' charms.' ^ The natives of Bornou had a similar
horror of being ' written ; ' they said ' that they did not
' like it ; that the Sheik did not like it ; that it was a
' sin ; and I am quite sure, from the impression, that we
' had much better never have produced the book at all.' '^
'I'he Fetich women in Dahome, says Burton, ' were easily
' dispersed by their likenesses being sketched.' ^ In his
Travels in Lapland, Sir A. de C. Brooke say^i : — ' I
' could clearly perceive* that many of them imagined
' the magical art to be connected with what I was doing,
' and on this account showed signs of uneasiness, till
' reassured by some of the mc 'chants. An instance of
' this happened one morning, when a Laplander knocked
' at the door of my chamber, and entered it, as they
' usually did, without further ceremony. Having come
' from Alten to Hammerfe^vt on some business, curiosity

' \

' Voyage to the Polar Sens, ii. G. ' Mission to the King of Da-

- Deiiham's Travels in Africa, home, i. 278.
vol. i. p. 275. ■• Brooke's Lapland, p. .'^54.

TliAITS.

SAVAflE IDEAS TX TiEGAPiV TO WRTTTXa. '2.)

ccl to u
id, as ill
s killed
id been

ho had

d some

matter

id been

nerican
;m any
jfficient
similar
did not
t was a
hat we
It all' '^
} easily
In his

agined
doing,
ss, till
nee of
locked
s they
^ come
riosity

of Da-

* had induced him, previously to his return, to pay the
' Englishman a visit. After a dram he seemed rpiite at

* his ease ; and producing my pencil, I proceeded, as he
' stood, to sketch his portrait. His countenance now
' immediately changed, and taking up his cap, he was
' on the point of making an abrupt exit, without my
' being able to conjecture the cause. As he spoke only
' his own tongue, I was obliged to have recourse to as-
' sistance ; when I found that his alarm was occasioned
' l)y my employment, which he at once comprehended,
' but suspected that, by obtaining a likeness of him, I
' should acquire over him a certain power and influence
' that might be prejudicial. He therefore refused to
' allow it, and expressed a wish, before any other steps
' were taken, to return to Alten, and ask the permission
' of his master.' Mr. Ellis mentions the existence of a
similar feeling in Madagascar.^

We can hardly wonder that writing should seem to
savages even more magical than drawing. Carver, for
instance, allowed the Ncrth American Indians to open
a book as often as and wherever they pleased, and then
told them the number of leaves. ' The only way they
' could account,' he says, ' for my knowledge, was by
' conch ding that the book was a spirit, and whispered
' me answers to whatever I demanded of it.' ^

Father Baegert mcintions ^ that ' a certain missionary
' sent a native to one of his colleagues, with some loaves
' of bread and a letter stating their number. The mes-
' senger ate a part of the bread, and the theft was con-
' sequently discovered. Another time when he had to

* Three Visits to Madagascar, p 358. '^ Travels, p. 355.

^ Smithsonian lleport, 1864, p. 379.

USE OF rnAYEns as medtcixe.

i if

. t

t ■;

' deliver four lojivos, he ate two of them, ])ut l»i<l the
' acconipanyirif^ letter under a stone while he was thus

* engajrcd, believing that his conduct would not be

* revealed this time, as the letter had not seen him in

* the act of eating the loaves.'

Further north, the Minatarrees, seeing Catlin intent
over a copy of the ' New York Commercial Advertiser,'
were much puzzled, but at length came to the conclu-
sion that it was a medicine-cloth for sore eyes. ( )ne of
them eventually bought it for a high price.^

This use of writing as a medicine prevails largely in
Africa, where the priests or wizards write a prayer on a
])iece of board, wash it off, and make the patient drink
it. Caillie^ met with a man who had a great reputation
lor sanctity, and who made his living by writing prayers
on a board, washing them off, and then selling the
Avater, which was sprinkled over various objects, and
supposed to improve or protect them.

Mungo Park on one occasion profited by this idea.
' A Bambarran having,' he says, ' heard that I was a
' Christian, immediately thought of procuring a saphie ;
' and for this purpose brought out his ivalha or writing-
' board, assuring me that he w^ould dress me a supper
' of rice, if I would write him a saphie to protect him
' from wicked men. The proposal was of too great con-

* sequence to me to be refused ; I therefore wrote the
' board full from top to bottom on both sides ; and my

* landlord, to be certain of having the whole force of
' the charm, washed the writing from the board into a

* calabash with a little water, and, having said a few
' prayers over it, drank this powerful draught ; after

' i\ uiericau Indians, vol. ii. p. 92. * Travels, vol. i. p. 202.

SAVAGE //)/'• V' OX DISEASE.

wliii'li, lest a »\iv^\v word sliuuld t'scapc, he litkud tlio
board until it was (luite dry.' '

In Al

•ittcn

Heine
anuilets arc generally taken from tlie Koran. It is
admitted tliat they are no i)rotcction from firearms ; hut
this does not tlie least weaken the faith in tliem, hceausc,
as sruns were not invented in Mahomet's time, he natu-
rally provided no specifie against them.'^

Among the Kirghiz, also, Atkinson tells us that the
Midlas sell similar amulets, ' at the rate of a sheep
' for each scrap of paper ; ' ^ and similar chrrms are
' in great recpiest among the Turkomans,' ''' and in
Afghanistan.^

The science of medicine, indeed, like that of astro-
nomy, and like religion, assumes among savages very
much the character of witchcraft.

Ignorant as they are of the processes by which life
is maintained, of anatomy and of physiology, the true
nature of disease does not occur to them. Thus the
negroes universally believe that diseases are caused by
evil spirits : ^ among the Kaffirs, ' diseases are all attri-
buted ' to three causes — either to being enchanted by an
' enemy, to the anger of certain beings whose abode
' appears to be ii/ the rivers, or to the power of evil
' spirits.' ^ So, again, in Guinea, the native doctors paint

' Park's Travels, vol. i. p. 357.
See also p. 56. Cailli^'s Travels to
Tiiubiictoo, vol. i. p. 376. Bartb, vol.
ii. p. 449.

'■' Astley's Collection of Voyages,
vol. ii. p. 36.

^ Sibi-ria, p. 310.

" VaiuLerv's Travels in (.entral
Asia, p. .00.

^ Masson's Travels in Balo-
cliistan, Afghanistan, »S:c., vol. i.
pp. 74, 90, 312 ; vol. ii. pp. 127, 302.

" Pritcliard's Natural Histoiy of
Man, vol. ii. p. 704.

'' Lichtenstein, vol. i. p. 265.
Maclean's Kailir Ljiws and Customs,
p. 88.

.i>'i

hisKA.sEs surrnsun to nE

mtientH (liH'cpcnt cole

'r'i

i I

. '^

wir patientH (iincpcnt colours in lionour of tlic spirit
Avliich is supposed to have caused the disease.' In West
Australia, for tlie same reason, it is tlie duty of the
doctor to run round and roimd liis patient, sliouting as
he <^oes, to keep away tlie evil spirit.*'^

Similar theories on the origin and nature of disease
occur in various parts of the world, as, for instance, in
Siberia, among the Kalmucks, the Kirghiz, and J>ash-
kirs ; ^ in many of the Indl-^n tribes, as the Abors,
Kacharis, Kols, &c. ; ^ in Ceylon ; '' among the Karens ; "
in the Andamans ; in the Samoan and other Pacific
Islands ; ^ in Madagascar, among the Oaribs,® &c. The
consequence of this is that cures arc effected by ejecting
or exorcising the evil spirit. Among the Kalmucks,
this is the business of the so-called * Priests,' who
induce the evil spirit to quit the body of the patient
and enter some other object. If a chief is ill, some
other person is induced to take his name, and thus, as
is supposed, ' the evil spirit passes into his body.' ^ In
T?ome there was an altar dedicated to the Goddess
Fcver.'^ Certain forms of disease, indeed, are now, and,
as wc know, have long been, regarded, even among the
more advanced nations of the East, as caused by the

1^ '

I ^'

' Astley's Collection of Voyages,
vol. ii. p. 430. Cruickshank, Eighteen
Years on the Gold Coast, vol. ii.
pp. 134, 144.

" Forrest, Jour. Anthrop. Inst,
vol. iii. p. 319.

3 IMiiller's Des. de toutes les Na-
tions de I'Empire de llussie, part i.
pp. 123, IGO.

■* Dalton's Des. Ethnology of
Bengal, pp. 25, 85.

'^ Saint-IIilaire, Le Boi' Iha et sa

Religion, p. 387.

" The Karens of the Chersonese,
pp. 123, 354.

^ Turner's Nineteen Years in
Polynesia, p. 224. Gerland's Cont.
of Waitz's Anthrop., vol. vi. p. 082.

^ Tylor's Primitive Culture, vol.
ii. p. 134.

» De Hell's Sceppes of the Cas-
pian Sea, p. 256.

"^ Epictetus, trans, hy Mrs. Carter,
vol. i. pp. 91, 104.

CAVSIU) BY sriUITS.

prt'st'iu'ij of L'vil sph'it.s. 'The Assyrians and l)al>y-
' loulnns,' says tlio iJev. A. II. Saycc, ' like tlic .lews of
' the Talmud, believed that the world was swanniu^^
' with ohnoxiouH spirits who produced the various dis-
' eases to which man is liable.' '

Many sava«^e races do not believe in luitural death,
and if a man, however old, dies without Imntr wounded,
conclude that he nuist have been the victim of nui^ic.
Thus, then, when a savage is ill, he naturally attributes
his suft'erings to some enemy within him, or to sonic
foreign object, and the result is a peculiar system of
treatment, curious both for its simplicity and uni-
versality.

' It is remarkable in the Abiponian (Paraguay) i)hy-
' sicians,' says Father Dobritzhoft'er,^ ' that they cure
' every kind of disease with one and the same medi'-ir-c.
' liCt us examine this method of healing. They apply
' their lips to the part allccted, and suck it, spitting
' after every suction. At intervals they draAV u}) their
' breath from the very bottom of their breast, and blow
' upon that part of the body which is in pain. That
' blowing and sucking are alternately repeated. . . .
' This method of healing is in use amongst all the
' savages of Paraguay and Brazil that I am acquainted
' with, and, according to Father Jean Grillet, amongst
' the Galibe Indians. . . . The Abipones, still more
' irrational, expect sucking and blowing to rid the body
' of whatever causes pain or inconvenience. This belief

' Records of the Past, pub. by p. 249. See also Azara, Voy. dans

the Society of Biblical Literature, I'Amt^r. Mdrid., vol. ii. pp. 25, 117,

vol. i. p. l.",!. 140,142.

'^ History of the Abipoms, vol. ii.

1*1

if,t ;i

:.Tf'.'

. ■ *» I

. 1

MEDICAL TREATMENT

' is constantly fostered by the jugglers with fresh
' artilices ; for when they prepare to suck the sick
' man, they secretly put thorns, beetles, worms, &c.
' into their mouths, and spitting them out, after having
' sucked for some time, say to him, pointing to the
' worm or thorn, " See here the cause of your disorder."
' At this siffht the sick man revives, when he thinks
' the enemy that has tormented him is at length
' expelled.'

At first one might almost be disposed to think that

some one had been amusmg himself at the expense of

the worthy father, but we shall find the very same mode

of treatment among other races. Martins tells us that

the cures of the Guaycurus (Brazil) ' are very simple,

and consist principally in fumigating or in sucking

the part affected, on which the Paye spits into a pit,

as if he would give back the evil prmciple which he

has sucked out to the earth and bury it.' ^

In British Guiana, Mr. Brett mentions that, ' if the
patient be stiong enough to endure the disease, the
excitement, the noise, and the fumes of tobacco in
which he is at times enveloped, and the sorcerer
observes signs of recovery, he will pretend to extract
the cause of the complaint by sucking the part
affected. After many ceremonies, he will produce
from his mouth some strange substance, such as a
thorn or gravel-stone, a fish bone or bird's claw, a
snake's tooth or a piece of Avire, which some malicious
yauhahu is supposed to have inserted in the affected
part.' "^ The Mexican doctors pretended to extract a

' Travels in brazil, vol. ii. p. 77.

'^ Brett's Indian Tribes of Guiana, p. ^04.

,*'6

AMOXG SAVAGES.

piece of bone or some other object, which they then in-
dicated to the patient as having been the cause of his
aiifFering.^

In North America, atnong the Carolina tribes, ' the
* theory was that «all distempers were caused by evil
' spirits.' ^

Father Baegert mentions that the Califomian sor-
cerers blow upon and suck those who are ill, and finally
show them sonic small object, assuring them that it had
been extracted, and that it was the cause of the pain.
Wilkes thus describes a scene at Wallawalla, on the
Columbia IJivcr : — ' The doctor, who was a woman,
' bending over the body, began to suck his neck and
' chest in different parts, in order more effectually to
' extract the bad spirit. She would every now and then
' seem to obtain some of the disease, and then faint
' away. On the next morning she was still found suck-
' ing the boy's chest. ... So powerful was the hifluence
' operated on the boy that he indeed seemed better. . . .
'The last time Mr. Drayton visited the doctress, she
' exhibited a stone, about the size of a goose's e<rg, say-
' ing that she had taken the disease of the boy out of
' him.' ^

Among the Prairie Indians, also, all diseases arc
treated alike, being referred to one cause, viz. the
presence of an evil spirit, which must be expelled.
This the medicine-man ' attempts, in the first place, by
' certain incantations and ceremonies, intended to secure
' the aid of the spirit or spirits he worships, and then

' Ikncroft, Native Races of the ^ United States Exploriujj Expe-

racific States, vol. ii. p. 002. dition, vol. iv. p. 400. See aim

* Jones's Antiquities of the Jones's Antiquities of the Southern

Southern Indians, p. ■>!. Indians, pp. 20, yo.

;i'*

¥A

<■..'■

:t2J

['.'i

, i

'■ 'o

. ,t
i I"

[JO

ME DIG A L Tli E. I TMENT

:!l

' by all kinds of frightful noises and gestures, and snck-
' ing over the seat of pain with his mouth.' ^ Speaking
of the Hudson's Bay Indians. Hearne says : — ' Here it
' is necessary to remark that they use no medicine either
' for internal or external complaints, but perform all
' their cures by charms — in ordinary cases sucking the
' part affected, bloAving and singing.' '^

Again, in the extreme North, Crantz tells us that
among the Esquimaux old women are accustomed ' to
' extract from a swollen leg a parcel of hair or scraps of
' leather ; they do it by sucking with their mouth,
' which they hai before crammed full of such stuff.' ^
Passing now to the Laplanders, we are told that if any
one among them is ill. a wizard sucks his forehead and
blows in his face, thinking thus to cure him. Among
the Tunguses the doctor sucks the forehead of his
patient.

In South Africa, Chapman tliUii' describes a similar
custom : — A man having been injured, he says, ' our
' friend sucked at the wound, and then . . . extracted
' from his mouth a lump of some substance, which was
' supposed to be the disease.' *

In New Zealand,^ each disease was regarded as
being caused by a particular god ; thus ' Tonga was the
' god who caused headache and sickness : he took up his
' abode in the forehead. Mako-Tiki, a lizard god, was
' the source of all pains in the breast ; Tu-tangata-kino

t 'I ^

I'i

' Schoolcraft's Indian Tribos, vol. '' Travels in Africa, vol. ii. p. 45.

i. p. 250. See also Livingotoiie's Travels in

'^ Voyage to the Northern Ocean, South Africa, p. 130.

p. 180. ^ Taylor's New Zealand and its

' History of Greenland, vol. i. p. Inhabitants, p. 34. Shortland, p.

214. 114.

AMOXG SAVAGES.

was the god of the stomach ; Titi-hai occasioned pains
in the ankles and feet ; Rongomai and Tuparitapu were
the gods of consumption ; Koro-kio i)resided over cliihl-
birth.'

' Sickness,' says Yate/ ' is brought on by the
" Atua," who, when he is angry, comes to them in
the form of a lizard- enters their inside, and preys
upon their vitals till they die. Hence they use incan-
tations over the sick, with the expectation of either
propitiating the angry deity or of driving him away ;
for the latter of which purposes they make use of
the most tlireatening and outrageous language.' The
Stiens of Cambodia believe 'in an evil genius, and
attribute all disease to him. If any one be suffering
from illness, they say it is the demon tormenting
him ; and, with this idea, make, night and day, an
insupportable noise around the patient.' '^

' Among the Bechuana tribes, the name adopted by
the missionaries (for God) is Morimo. . . . Morimo,
to those who know anything about it, had been
represented by rain-makers and sorcerers as a male-
volent being which . . . sometimes came out and
inflicted diseases on men and cattle, and even caused
death.' The word did not at first convey to the
Bechuana mind the idea of a person or persons, but
of a state or disease, or what superstition would style
bewitched. . . . They could not describe who or wluit
^[oriuio was, except something cunning or mali-
cious. . . . They never applied the name to a human
being, except in the way of ridicule, or in adulation

* Yate's Xew Zealand p. 141.

■^ Mouhot'd Travels iu the Coutral Parts of ludo-China, vol. i. p. 1'50.

It* i

,..:""!

■I;

*■' \!

I :

1 ■

• i

t 1 »

'i i^

1 •
1

32 6MFJ6'^ IDEAS ON THE CAUSES OF DISEASES.

' to those who tau^-ht his greatness, wisdom, and
' power.' ^

The same idea occurs in Madagascar. Sibree gives
the following account : — ' A woman of rank appointed
' for the occasion began to dance, while another, seated
' behind the sick persons, began to beat a worn-out
' spade, suspended by a string, with a hatchet, quite
' close to their ears, making a horrid din. I thought
' as I stood by, that if it wanted anything to make an
' indisposed person downright ill this would be a good
• recipe. The idea of this is to drive the angatra (evil
' spirit) possessing the sick person into one of those
' dancing.' ^

The Koussa Kaffirs,^ says Lichtenstein, ascribe all
their diseases ' to one of three causes : either to beino-
' enchanted by an enemy ; to the anger of certain beings,
' whose abode appears to be in the rivers ; or to the
' power of evil spirits.' Among the Kols of Nagpore,
jis Colonel E. T. Dalton tells us, ' all disease in men
' and in cattle is attributed to one of two causes : the
' wrath of some evil spirit who has to be appeased, or
' the spell of some witch or sorcerer.' * The same is
the case with the Cinghalese,^ and indeed with the
aboriginal races of India generally.

' The good spirits of the departed, Azimo or Bazimo,
' may be propitiated by medicines, or honoured by
' offerings of beer or meal, or anything they loved while
' in the body ; and the bad spirits, " Mchesi," of whom
' WQ have heard only at Litte, and therefore cannot be
' certain that they belong to the pure native faith, may

> Moffat's Travels, p. 2G0.

- Folk Lore Record, vol, ii. p. 40.

3 Liflilenstcin, vol. ii. 3. 255.

^ Trans. Etbn. Soc, N.S., 1808,
p. m.

^ St.-IIilaire, Boudha, p. 387.

•:fi

SUCKING OUT THE EVIL.

pointed
, seated
orn-oiit
t, quite
thought
lake an
a good
,ra (evil
3f those

iribe all
o being
. beings,
to the
agpore,
in men
tes : the
ased, or
same is
ith the

Bazimo,
[red by
Id while
whom
mot be
[;h, may

.S., 18G8,
b). 387,

* be prevented by medicine from making raids, and mis-

* chief in the gardens. A man with headache was heard

* to say, " My departed father is now scolding me ; I feel
'"his power in my head ; " and he was observed to re-

* move from the company, make an offering of a little

* food on a leaf, and pray, looking upwards to where
' he supposed his father's spirit to be. They are not,

* like Mohammedans, ostentatious in their prayers.' ^

In Australia, we are told by ex -Governor Eyre, m
his interesting work, that, 'as all internal pains are
' attributed to witchcraft, sorcerers possess the power of
' relieving or curing them. Sometimes the mouth is ap-
' plied to the surface where the pain is seated, the blood
' is sucked out, and a bunch of green leaves applied to
'the part. Besides the blood, which is derived from
' the gums of the sorcerer, a bone is sometimes put out
' of the mouth, and declared to have been procured from
' the diseased part. On other occasions the disease is
' drawn out in an invisible form, and burnt in the lire
' or thrown into the water.' ^

Thus, then, we find all over the world this primitive
cure by sucking out the evil, which perhaps even with
ourselves lingers among nurses and children in the
universal nursery remedy of ' Kiss it and make it
well.'

These misconceptions of the true nature of disease
lead to many other singular modes of treatment. Thus,
among the Kukis, the doctor, not the patient, takes the
remedies. Consequently, food is generally prescribed,

3-*!

' Livingstone, vol. ii. p. 520.
* Discoveries in Central Australia,
vol. ii. p. 360. See also Olafield,

Trans. Ethn. Soc, N.S., vol. iii. p.
243.

kffiV

ft ,

»i

Y K' * * J

!t>:

;o4

•t

if]

; i i

FANCIES ABOUT TWINS.

and ill cases of severe illness a buffalo is sacrificed,
and the doctor gives a feast. *

Another curious remedy practised by the Austra-
lians is to tie a line r< und the forehead or neck of the
patient, while some kind friend rubs her li[)s with the
' other end of the strin^^ until they bleed freely ; this
' blood is supposed to come from the patient, passing
' along the string.' '^ It naturally follows from this,
and is, as will be presently shown, the belief of many of
the lower races of men, that death also is the work of
vile spirits.

A dislike of twins is widely distributed. In the
Island of Bali^ (near Java), the natives 'have the sin-
' gular idea, when a woman is brought to bed of twins,
' that it is an unlucky omen ; and immediately on its
' being known, the woman, with her husband and chil-
' dren, is obli<z;ed to ffo and live on the seashore or
* among the tombs for the space of a month, to purify
' themselves, after which they may return into the
' village, upon a suitable sacrifice being made.' This
idea is, however, far from being peculiar to that island.
Among the Khasias of Hindostan,* ' in the case of
' twins being born, one used frequently to be killed ; it
' is considered unlucky, and also degrading, to have
' twins, as they consider that it assimilates them with
' the lower animals.'

Among some of the Siberian tribes, twins are at-
tributed to the influence of evil spirits.^ Among the

' Dalton's De.«. Etbn. of Bengal,
p. 46.

- Englisli Colony in New South
Wales, pp. 363, 382.

' Moor's Notices of the Indian
Archipelago, p. 96.

* Steel, Trans. Ethn. Soc, N.S.,
vol. vii. p. 308.

^ Miiller's Des. de toutes les Na-
tions de TEmp. de Kuscie, vol. iii.
p. 138.

FANCIES ABOUT TWINS.

•iiiced,

Liistra-
of tlie
th the
; ; this
)assing
a this,
lany of
i^ork of

In tlie
he sin-
twins,
on its
d chil-
lore or
purify
the
This
sland.
case of
led; it
have
n with

are at-
njx the

oc, N.S,,

les Na-
vol. iii.

Ainos of Japan,^ when twins are born, one is always
destroyed. Among some of tlie South African tribes
one of two twins is killed.'^ At Arebo, in Guinea.
Smith and Bosnian^ tell us that when twins are born,
both they and the mother are killed. ' In Dahonie
' and in Nguru, one of the sister provinces to Unyan-
* yembe, twins are ordered to be killed and thrown into
' the water the moment they are born, lest drouglits
' and famines or floods should oppress the land. Should
' any one attempt to conceal twins, the whole famil}-
' would be murdered.' *

In Peru, Garcilasso de la Vega tells us that some
tribes welcomed twins, as an evidence of fertility, while
others ' held such births to be a bad omen.' ^

The Australians,^ the Mexicans,^ and the North
American Indians,® on the birth of twins killed one.

The following passage is from the introduction to the
curious old Chevalier Assigne, or Knight of the Swan.
The king and queen are sitting on the wall together : —

The kynge loked adowne, and byhelde under,
And seygh a pore womman, at the yate sytte,
Withe two chylderen her byfore, were borne at a byrthe ;
And he turned him thenne, and teres lette he falle.
Sythen sykede he on byghe, and to the qwene sayde,
Se ye the yonder poor womman. Now that she is pyned
With twynlengea two, and that dare I my hedde wedde.
The qwene nykked him with nay, and seyde it is not to leve ;
Oon manne for oon chylde, and two wymmen for tweyne ;

' Bickmove, Proc. Bost, Soc. of ol'thi' Nile, pp. 54), 542.
Nat. His. 18(57. * Uoynl Commciitaiics of iIk

* Livingstone's Travels in South Incas. Ilakluyt Society, a ol, i. p

Africa, p. &77. 1 10.

^ Voyage to Guinea, p. 2.3.3. Pin- ^ Waitz, Antliropologie. vol. vi.

ktTton, vol. XV. p. 520. Elsewhere p. 779.
ill Guinea twins are welcomed. ' Bancroft, loc. cit. vol. ii. p. i'tii*.

■* Spekes Discovery of the Source * Lafitau, vol. i. p. 592.

*D 2

'■' •(• '^ ■' 1

:{•; LIFE ATTRIBUTED TO INANIMATE OBJECTS.

B »

.r •

'■I

! 1

I-

Or ellis hit were unsemelyo thyngo, as me wolde thenke,
But eche chylde badde a fader, how manye so ther were.'

Since reading this I have found that the very same
idea occurs in Guinea.'^

Nevertheless I am disposed to attribute the belief in
the unluckiness of twins rather to the difficulty of
bringing up two children, and the consequent idea that
the mother .vas justified in killing one of them.

Some curious ideas prevalent among savages arise
from the fact that as their own actions are due to life,
so they attril ite life even to inanimate objects. Even
Plato assumed that everything which moves itself must
hfl.ve a soul, and hence that the world must have a soul.
Hearne tells us that the North American Indians pre-
fer one hook that has caught a big fish to a handful that
have never been tried ; and that they never put two nets
together for fear they should be jealous of one another.'

The Esquimaux thought that Captain Lyons'^
musical box was the child of his small hand-organ.*

The Bushmen supposed that Chapman's big waggon
was the mother of his smaller ones ; they ' despise an
' arrow that has once failed of its mark ; and on the con-
' trary consider one that has hit as of double value. They
' will, therefoi'e^ rather i.iake new furrows, how much
' time and trouble soever it may cost them, than collect
' those that have missed, and use them again.' ^

The natives of Tahiti sowed some iron nails given

* The Romance of the CLevalier
Aasijjne, edited by 11. II. GilLs, Esq.
Trubner, 1868.

^ Astley's Collection of Voyages,
vol. iii. p. 83. At p. 358. in the same
vol., we find u curious variation of
this idea among the Hottentots.

See also Burton's Dahome, vol. ii.
p. 145.

' Lac. cit. p. 330.

* Lvons's Journal, n. 140.

'•' Lichtenstein's Travels in South
Africa, vol. ii. p. 27i.

\ \ •

1 I '^

. -'^'^-

KILLING m ANIMATE OBJECTS.

them by Captain Coi>':, hoping^ thus to obtain young
ones. They also believe that ' not only all animals, but
trees, fruit, and even stones, have souls, which at death,
or upon being- consumed or broken, ascend to the divi-
nity, vv^ith whom they iirst mix, and afterwards pass
into the mansion allotted to each.'

The Tongans were of opinion that ' if an animal dies,^
its soul immediately goes to Bolotoo ; if a stone or any
other substance is broken, immortality is equally its
reward ; nay, artificial bodies have equal good uck
with men, and hogs, and yams. If an ax^ or a chisel
is worn out or broken up, away flics its soul for the
service oi the gods. If a house is taken down or any
way destroyed, its immortal part will find a situation
on the plains of Bolotoo.' Hence probably the custom
of breaking the implements, &c., buried with the dead.
This was not done to render them useless, for the savage
would not dream of violating the sanctity of the tomb ;
but because the implements required to be ' killed,' so
that their spirits, like those of the wives and slaves,
might accompany their master to the land of shadows.

Lichtenstein relates that the king of the Coussa
Kaffirs, having broken off a piece of the anchor of a
stranded ship, died soon afterwards ; upon which all
the Kaffirs made a point of saluting the anchor very
respectfully whenever they passed near it, regarding it
as a vindictive being.

Some similar accident probably gave rise to the an-
cient Mohawk notion that some great misfortune would
happen if any one spoke on Saratoga Lake. A strong-
minded Englishwoman, on one occasion, while being
^ Mariner's Tonga Islands, vol. ii. p. 137.

(

J-

8 SALUTATIOXlil.

turned ovor, insisted on talking, and, m slie got across
safely, rallied her boatman on his superstition ; hut I
think he had the best of it aftc^r all, for he at once
replied, ' The Great Spirit is merciful, and knows that
a ' white woman cannot liohl her tongue.' '

The forms of salutation among savanfes are sometimes
very curious, and their modes of showing tlieir feelings
(juite unlike ours, though they can generally be ex-
plained without difficulty. Kissing apju^ars to us to be
the natural language of affection. ' It is certain,' says
Steele, ' that nature was its author, and it began with
'the hrst courtship ; ' but this seems to ])e quite a mis-
take. In fact, it was unknown to the Australians, the
New Zeahuideis, the Papouans, and the I^'squimaux ;
(he African negroes, \vt arc told, do not like it, other-
wise 1 should have thought tluit, when once discovered,
it would have been universally popular. The New
Zealanders, according to Shortland, did not know how
to whistle ; '^ the V/est Ai'vUtitm do not shake hands ;''
the Jiatonga (one of the tribes n^siding on the Zambesi)
salute their friends by throwing themselves on their
backs on the ground, rolling from side to side, and
shipping their thighs with their hands.^

Clap] ting of hands is a high mark of respect in
Ijoango, and occurs also in various other negro ti'il)es ;
till! J)idiomans and some of the coast negroes snap
their fingers at a pei'scm as a comjJiment. In Loango
courtiers salute the king by leaping backwards and

' Hiirton'a AbbeokiUiv, vol. i. p. ■' Iliirton's Mission to Dalionic,

l'.>8. \ol. i. ]). ,'30.

'* Traditions of tlit? Nfw Zcii- ' Ijivinjrstone's Tmvela iu South

laiulevs, J) l;5l. AlVica, p. 001.

SAIUTATIOS'S.

fbrwjirds two or three times, and swingino- their arms.
The Fiie«:;ians sliow friendship l)yjiim|)inH; up and down,
and aiiu)n<^st ourselves 'juni])in^" i^rjoy' lias become

jrovei

hial.

The l»akaa, one of the Zand)esi tribes, have ft
peculiar prejudice a^f-ainst ehihlren who cut the upper
front teeth before the lower ones ; and 'you cut your
top teeth first ' is one of the bitterest insulrs a man
can receive.' 1 understand that amonjj; i'.ngiish luirses
also it is considered to indicate a weakly constitution.

The Polynesian? and the Malays always sit down
when speaking to a su[)erior ; a (;hinaman ])uts on his
hat instead of takinii' it off. Cook asserts that the

jM'ople of Mallicollo show their admiration by hissin
and the same is the case, accordin*:; to Casalis, anion<^
the KafKrs.'^ In somt; of the l*acilic islands, in parts of
llindostan ■' and some parts of Africa, it is considered

back to a superior. Some of the

resp

ectful to turn

your

New Tiuinea tribes salute a friend by squeezinjj; their
(iwn noses ; "* on the White Nile" and in Ashantee they
spit at you,^ and the ])eople of Jddah shake their fist as a
friendly fi;reeting." The Todas of the Neil<^herry Hills

o-ht

usniir

le open ri

are said to show respect by ' r

' iiand to the brow, restino- the thumb on the m

the upper Nile, Dr. Schweinfurth tells us,® that the

mode of showiuL*' admiration is to open the mouth

wide, and then cover it with the open hand ; and it has

1.1

m'''\

!:>;

■Ju:

' Ijiviiifrstone, /or. f/V. p. .077. '" PftluTick, pp. 424, 441.

- The Ilasutos, by the IN'V. K. " IMipui.^, p. 17S.

il'asftli.'<, p. 2;J4. " Allt'U and Thomson, vol. i.

■' Dubois, luc. cif. p. 210. p. 2!)().

' Comvie, Jour. A nthr. Inst. 1870, * Ilcart of.MVira, vol. ii. p. 77.

p. lOS.

■.,;■•» 1

!!■:

h\.

SALUTATIONS.

been asserted that in one tribe of Esquimaux it is
custonuiry to pull a iKjrson's none as a compliment,
though it is but ri<fht to say that Dr. Rae thinks there
was some mistake on the point ; on the other hand, Dr.
Blaekmore mentions that ' the si<^n of the Arapahoes,
' and from which they derive their name,' consists in
seizing the nose with the thumb and forefinger.^

Jt is asserted that in China a coffin is regarded as an
appropriate present for an aged relative, esj)ecia]ly if he
be in bad liealth.

» Trans. Kthn. Soc. 1809, p. JUO.

ri ■•

[.mi:

i f

j i

CHAPTER II.

ART AND ORNAMENTS.

THE earliest traces of art yet discovered belong to the
Stone Age — to a time so remote that the reindeer
was abundant in the South of France, and that probably,
though on this point there is some doubt, even the
mammoth had not entirely disappeared. These works
of art are sometimes sculptures, if one may say so, and
sometimes drawings or etchings made on bone or horn
with the point of a flint.

Th':y are of peculiar interest, both as being the most
ancient works of art known to us — older than any Egyp-
tian statues, or any of the Assyrian monuments — and
also because, though so ancient, they show really con-
siderable skill. There is, for instance, a certain spirit
about the subjoined group of reindeer (fig. 1), copied
from a specimen in the collection of the Marquis de
Vibraye. The mammoth (PI. J.) represented on the
opposite page, though less artistic, is perhaps even more
interesting. It is scratched on a piece of mammoth's
tusk, and was found in the cave of ^^a Madeleine in the
Dordogne.

It is somewhat remarkable that while even in the
Stone Period we find very fair drawings of animals, yet
in the latest part of the Stone Age, and throughout that
of Bronze, they are almost entirely wanting, and the

i-",.

ART 4.S AX

I ]

f - 1 1,

11-

If'!-

; . t

ornamentation is confined to vari(Mis combinations of
straight and curved lines and geometrical patterns.
This, 1 believe, will eventually be found to imply a
difference of race between the population of Western
Europe at these different periods. Thus at ])i'esent the
Esquimaux (see figg. 2-4) are very fair draughtsmen,
while the 1 Polynesians, though much more advanced in
many ways, and though skilful in ornamenting both
themselves and tlieir weapons, have very little idea

Fio. 1.

n .

(i|{(»l T 01" IJKIXDKIOU,

I •
I'-f •

i .

indeed of representing animals or jilants. Their tattoo-
ings, for instance, and the patterns; on their wea])ons,
are, like the ornaments of tiie Bronze Age, almost in-
variably of a geometrical character. lie{)resentations
of animals and plants are not, indeed, entirely wanting ;
but, whethei* attempted in drawing or in sculpture, they
are always rude and grotesque. A\'ith the Esquimaux
the very reverse is the case : among them we find none
of those graceful spirals, and other geometrical patterns.

ETIINOWfiK'AL GHAIiACTJJh'

st Ill-
ations
tino- ;

tlicy
iiianx

none
terns,

^'i

ii-i

Ki>,

IV,

W'^

il:^l

• o

ART AS AN

h i

i H

Ml. I

' ': S

SO characteristic of Polynesia ; but. on the other hand,
their weapons are often covered with representations
of animals and hunting scenes. Thus Beechey/ de-
scribing the weapons of the Esquimaux at Hotham's
Inlet, says : —

' On the outside of this and other instruments there
were etched a variety of figures of men, beasts, birds,
&c., with a truth and a character which showed the
art to be common among them. The reindeer were
generally in herds ; in one picture they were pursued
by a man in a stooping posture, in snow-shoes ; in
another he had approached nearer to his game, and
was in the act of drawing his bow. A third repre-
sented the manner of taking seals with an inflated skin
of the same animal as a decoy ; it was placed upon the
ice, and not far Irom it was a man lying upon hi?
belly, with a harpoon ready to strike the aniix al when
it should make its appearance. i\^othe^ was dragging
a seal home upon a small sledge ; and several baidars
were employed harpooning whales which had been
previously shot with arrows ; and thus, by comparing
one with another, a little history was obtained which
gave us a better insight into their habits than could be
rb*c'*tcd from any signs or intimations.' Some of these
drawings are represented in figs. 2-4, which are taken
from specimens presented by Captain Beechey to the
Aphmolean Museum at Oxford.

Hooper *^ also mentions drawings among the Tuski,
especially ' a sealskin tanned and bleached perfectly
* white, ornamented all over in painting and staining

' Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific, vol. i. p. 251.
'^ Tents of the Tuski, p. 05.

ETHNOLOGICAL CEAEACTEE.

' with figures of men, boats, animals, and delineations of
'■ whale-fishing, &c.^

In the same way we may, I think, fairly hope event-
ually to obtain from the ancient drawings of the bone
caves a better insight into the habits of our predecessors
in Western Europe ; to ascertain, for instance, whether
their reindeer were domesticated or wild. As yet,
however, mere representations of animals have been
met with, and nothing has been found to supplement
in any way the evidence derivable from the imple-
ments, &c.

But though we thus find traces of art — simple, indeed,
but by no means contemptible — in very ancient times,
and among very savage tribes, there are also other races
who are singularly deficient in this respect.

Thus, though some Australians are capable of mak-
ing rude drawings of animals, &c., others, on the con-
trary, as Oldfield ^ tells us, ' seem quite unable to
' realise the most vivid artistic representations. On
' being shown a large coloured engraving of an abo-
' riginal New Hollander, one declared it to be a ship,
' another a kangaroo, and so on ; not one of a dozen
' identifying the portrait as having any connection with
' himself. A rude drawing, with all the lesser parts
' much exaggerated, they can realise. Thus, to give
' tliem an idea of a man, the head must be drawn dis-
' proportionately large.'

Dr. Collingwood,^ speaking of the Kibalans of For-
' mesa, to whom he showed a copy of the ' Illustrated
'London News,' tells us that he found it 'impossible

' Trans. Etiin. Soc, N.S., yol. iii. p, 227
" Ibid. vol. vi. p. 139.

\.p>'

i il

:.;^*i

4(3

' '•

r<'

ART IN AFRICA.

h'i^ ^

. I

\ ■!■

' to interest them by pointing out the most striking
* illustrations, which they did not appear to compre-
' hend.'

Denham in his ' Travels in Central Africa,' says that
Bookhaloom, a man otherwise of considerable intelli-
gence, though he readily recognised figures, could not
understand a landscape. ' I could not,' he says, ' make
' him understand the intention of the print of the sand-
' wind in the desert, which is really so well described
' by Captain Lyons's drawing ; he would look at it up-
' side down ; and when I twice reversed it for him lie ex -
' claimed, " Why ! why ! it is all the same." A camel or
' a human figure was all I could make him understand,
' and at these he Avas all agitation and delight — " Gieb !
' " gieb ! " — Wonderful ! wonderful ! The eyes first took
' his attention, then the other features ; at the sight of
' the sword he exclaimed, " Allah ! Allah ! " and, on
' discovering the guns, instantly exclaimed, " Where is
'" the powder ?'" 1

So also the Kaffir has great difficulty in understand-
ing drawings, and perspective is altogether beyond him.
Central and Southern Africa seem, indeed, to be very
backward in matters of art. Still the negroes are not
altogether deficient in the idea. Their idols cannot be
called, indeed, works of art, but they often not only
represent men, but give some of the African charac-
teristics with grotesque fidelity.

The Kaffirs also can carve fair representations of
animals and plants, and are fond of doing so. The
handles of their spoons are often shaped into unmistake-
nble likenesses of giraffes, ostriches, and other snimals.

* Deiiliam's Travels in Afiica, vol. i. p. 1C7.

it:

THE QUIPPU.

As to tlie Bushmen, we have rather different ac-
counts. It has been stated by some that they have
no idea of perspective, nor of how a curved surface can
possibly be represented on a flat piece of paper ; while,
on the contrary, other travellers asseit that they readily
recoii'nise drawin<»;s of animals or flowers. The Chinese,
although so advanced in many Avays, are, we know,
very deficient in the idea of perspective.

We may safely conclude that no race of men in the
Stone A":e had attaine<l tlie art of communicatini»' facts
by means of letters, or even by the far ruder system of
picture-writing' ; nor does anything, perliaps, surprise
the savage more than t(' find tliat Europeans can com-
municate with one another l)y means of a few l)lack
scratches on a piece of paper.

Even the Peruvians had no better means of record-
ing events than the (^uippu or (^lipu, Avhicli was a cord
about two feet long, to which a number of different
coloured threads were attaclied in the form of a friuixe.
Tlie.se threads were tied into knots, whence the name
(^uippu, meaning a knot. These knots served as cyphers,
and the various threads had also conventional meanings
attached to them, indicated liy the various colours.
This singular and apparently very cumbersome mode of
assisting the memory reappears in China and in Africa.
Thus, 'As to ^ the origmal of the Chinese characters,
' before the commencement of the monarchy, little cords
' with sliding knots, each of which had its particular
' signification, were used in transacting business. These
' are represented in two tables by the Chinese, called
' lIofN, and Lo-shu. The first colonies who inhabited

' A slley's fJol lection of Voyage.--^ vol. iv. p. 104.

k! -'ri

■■'^•'■'-h-l

i ' .
t.: ■ ,'

I'lOTUUE-WRITING.

• • t

^ Svi'hwen had no other literature besides some r Ith-
' metieal sets of counters made with little knotted <: .rds
' in imitation of a string of rciind beads, witli w^ ich

* they calculated and made up all their accounts in - -^m-

* merce/ Again, in West Africa, we aro <^old th.'it the
peo))l' ol Ardrah ^ ' can neither write nor read. They

* nst smui cords tied, the knots of which have their

* sijiTniii ration. These are also used by several savage

* nations .. America.' It seems not impossible that
tying a knot in a pocket-handkerchief may be the direct
lineal representative of this ancient and Avidely-extended
mode of assisting the memory.

The so-called picture-writing is, however, a '^'eat
advance. Yet from representations of hunts in general,
such as those of the Esquimaux (see figs. 2—4), it is
indeed but a step to record pictorially some particular
hunt. Again, the Esquimaux almost always places his
mark on his arrows, but I am not aware that any Poly-
nesian ever conceived the idea of doing so. Thus we
get among the Esquimaux a double commencement, as
it were, for the representation of ideas by means of
signs.

This art of pictorial writing was still more advanced
among tlie Red Skins. Thus Carver tells us that on
one occasion his Chipeway guide, fearing that the Nau-
dowessies, a hostile tribe, might accidentally fall in with
and attack them, ' peeled the bark from a large tree near

* the entrance of a river, and with wood-coal mixed with
' bear's grease, their usual substitute for ink, Ptade in an

* uncouth but expressive ^nanner the figure of the town of

* the Ottagaumies. He then formed to the left a man

' Astley's Collection of Voyages, vol. iii. p. 71.

ri(rruuE.\VRiTiNa.

B nrlth-
2d <: rds
1 w* ich
in .^m-
\ih\j the
Tliey
^'e their
savage
)le that
e direct
itcnded

a '^'eat
general,
), it is
rticular
ices his
7 Poly-
lus we
ent, as
ans of

v^anced
lat on
Nau-
11 with
e near
d with
sin an
?wnof
I man

drt'sscil in skins, by which \\v intended to reinvsent a
iSaudowessie, witli a line drawn from his mouth to thai
of a deer, th syml)olof the Chi})eways. After this lie
depicted still farther to tiie left a canoe as proceeding
up the river, in which he placed a man sitting with
a hat on ; this Hgure was designed io re[)reseiit an
Englishman, or myself, and my Frenchman was drawn
with a handkerchief tied round his head, and rowing
the canoe ; to these he added sever .. t^her siguiticaut
emblems, among which the pi[)? of ^ace appeared
painted on the prow of the can<. . liie meaning he
intended to convey to the Xaudow dds, and which I
doubt not appeared perfectly h iilbgible to them, was
that one of the Chipcway chiefs had received a sj/cech
from some Xaudowessie chiefs at the town of the Otta-
gaumies, desiring him to conduct the Englishman, who
had lately been among them, up the Chipcway river ;
and that they thereby recpiirod that the Chipeway,
notwithstanding he was an avow^ed enemy, should not
be molested by them on his pjissage, as he had the
care of the person whom they esteemed as one of their
nation.' ^

An excellent account of the Red Skin pictorial art
is given by Schoolcraft in his ' History of the Indian
Tribes in the United States.'
Fig. 5 represents the census-roll of an Indian band
at Mille Lac, in the territory of ]\Iinnesot,'i, sent in to
the United States agent by Xago-nabe, a Chipeway
Indian, during the progress of the annuity ])ayments in
1849. The Indians generally denote themselves by their
' totem,' or family sign ; but in this case, as they all had

' Carver's Travels, p. -ilB.
E

W.'

mt^

\ ^

~ \\

INDIAN UmSUS-IiOLL.

■|f

f I

t is;

V,;

li, : 1 ,1

^. ,*

b'w. 5,

III

1!)

lllli

I I r I I

Hill

III

1.-.

nil

11 1

17 >

I I

INDIAN CEN8US-R0LI,.

IX J) IAN TUMU STONES.

the same totem, lie had dcsii^natcd eacli family l)y a sij^ii
deiiotinjj^ the common name of the chief. Tlum nnmlxT
5 denotes a catfish, and the six strokes indicate tliat
tlie Catiish's I'amily consisted of six indivi(hials ; S is a
heaver skin, 1) a sun, V^ an ea^le, 14 a snake, 22 a
hiiffah), M an axe, oo the medicine-injni, and so on.

l-'io. 0.

Fia. 7.

f^y

INDIAN GE\VE-P08TS. (Schoolcraft, vol. i. pi. 50.)

Fig'. 6 is the record of a noted chief of the St. jVIary's
band, called Shin-ga-ba-was-sin, or the Image-stone, who
died on Lake Superior in 1<S28. He was of the totem
of the crane, as iiidicate<l l)y the figure. The six strokes
on the right, and the three on the left, are marks of
honour. The latter re])resent three im])()rtant general
treaties of }>eace in which he had taken part at various
times. ^ Among the former marks are included his

' Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes, vol. i. yi. 357.
k2

"K.

\ ■

tin

1 " '.

i •

It:

1 *

li t

1 '"

II \ 3

[: ' ■

VlOTUIiE.WRlTINQ

Fia. 8.

presence under Tociini.sL'h, iit the battle of Moruviaii-

town, where lie lost a brother.

Fig. 7 representH the adjedati^', or tomb-board, of

Wabojeeg, a celebrated
war-chief", who died on
Lake Sii})erior, about
171)^i. lie was of the
laniily or clan of the
reindeer. This fact is
symbolised by the
li<»iire of the deer.
The reverse position
denotes dejith. His
own personal name,
which was the White
^ Fisher, is not noticed.
The seven marks on
the left denote that
he had led seven war
parties. The three per-
})endicular lines below
ihc totem re[)resent
three wounds received
in battle. The figure
of a moose's head re-
lates to a desperate
conflict with an en-
raged animal of this
khid. Fig. 8 is copied
from a bark letter

which was found above St. Anthony's Falls in 1820.

' It consisted of white birch bark, and the figures had

_-,^^ ^^.<^

t I f ;

IX NO urn AMERICA.

.•53

* })oon cnrefiilly drawn. No. 1 (Icnotds the fln«( of tlie
' Union: No. 2 tlif ciintonmcnt, then recently ostahlislied,
'at Cold SjU'ln;";, on the western side of the elill's, above
*tlie influx of the St. Peters: No. 4 is the symbol of th(»
' corn innn(]in;jf officer (Colonel II. Leavenworth), undi i
'whose authority a mission of peac(! had l)een sent into
'the Cliippewa country: No. 11 is the symbol of
'Cliakope, or the Six, the leading Sioux chief, under
' whose orders the i)nrty iuovcmI : No. 8 is the second
'chief, called AVabedatunka, or the lilack Dog. The
'symbol of his name is Xo. 10 ; he has fourtecm lodges.

* No. 7 is a chief, subordinate to Chakope, with tiiirteen
'lodges, and a bale of goods (No. 9), which was devoted
' by tiie Government to the ()l)jects of the peace. The
' name of N(^. (5, avIiosg wigwam ia No. 5, with thirteen
' subordinate lodges, was not given.' ^

This was intended to imply that a party of Sioux,
headed by Cliakope, and accompanied or at least coun-
tenanced by Colonel Leavenworth, had come to this spot
in the hope of meeting the Chippewa hunters and con-
cluding a peace. The Chippewa chief, Babesacundabee,
who found this letter, read off its meaning without
doubt or hesitation.

On one occasion a party of explorers, with two
Indian guides, saw, one morning, just as they were
about to start, a pole stuck in the direction tliey were
going, and holding at the top a piece of bnrk, covered
with drawings, intended for the information of any ot I'cr
Indians who might pass that way. Tlii:^ is reprcs'^nved
in fig. 9.

No. 1 represents the subaltern officer in comuinnd

' Schoolcraft's Indian Tribea, vol, i. pp. 352, 353.

-V-^

INDIAN BARK LETTEU.

■':i

l! '•

1 1

111 ■'

^1 :1

of the party, lie is drawn with a sword to denote his
rank. No. 2 denotes the secretary, lie is represented
as ]ioidin<f a book, tlie Indians havino- understood him
to be an attorney. No. 8 represents tlie oeolou^ist, ap-
propriately indicated by a hannner. Nos. 4 and .5 are
attaches ; No. the interpreter. The group of figiu'es
marked 9 represents seven infantry soldiers, eacli of
whom, as shown in gronp No. 10, was anned with a
musket. No. 15 denotes that they Inri a separate fire,
and constituted a separate mess, l^'ig?^. 7 and (S repre-
sent the two Chippewa guides. Iliese are the only

Fig. 0.

INDIAN liAUiv LKTIKH.

human figures drawn without the distinguishing symbol
of a hat. This was the characteristic seized on by them,
and generally employed by the Indians, to distinguisli
the Iie</ from the Mliifc race. I'igs. II and 12 repre-
sent a prairie hen and a green tortoise, Avhich constituted
the sum of the preceding day's chase, and were eaten at
the encam])mcnt. The inclination of the pole was de-
signed to show the course pursued, and there were three
hacks in it below the scroll of bark, to indicate the esti-
mated length of this })art of the jovu*ney, com})viting from
water to water. The followino' iii>-ure (iiii*. 10) cfives
the biography of Wingemund, a noted chief of the Dela-

INDIAN BIOCrUAniY.

waroR. 1 shows that it helonp^cd to the oldost branoli
of tlie tribe, which use tlic tortoise on tlieir symbol ; 2
is his totem or sym1)ol ; 8 is the sun, and the ten strokes
represent ten war parties in wliich he was engaged.
Those fignres on the left represent the capti 'es whicli
he made in each of his excursions, the men being dietin-
gnished from the Avomen, and the captives 1)eing denoted
by liaving lieads, while a man without his head is of
course a dead man. The central figures represent three

Fra. 10.

INDIAN nioaRAriiY,

forts which he attacked ; 8 one on Lake Krie, that of
Detroit, and 10 Fort Pitt, at the junction of the Alle-
ghany and the Monongahela. The sloping strokes
denote the ninnber of his followers.^

Fig. 11 represents a petition jnTsented to the Presi-
dent of the United States for the right to certaiii lakes
(8) in the neighbourhood of Lake Superior (10).

No. 1 represents Oshcabawis, the leader, wh.o is of

' Schonlcvaft, vol. i. p. 358.

.'■:■ \

X f

i : ^ ;•

; I

\:\: i

■I

■. ■■ f

INDTAN PETITION.

SAVAGE ORNAMENTS.

the Crane clan. The eyes of liis followers are all con-
nected with his to sym1)olise unity of views, and their
hearts to denote unity of feeling. No. 2 is Wai-niit-tig-
oazh, whose totem is a marten : No. 3 is Oixemaffee-
zhig', also a marten; 1 is another marten, Muk-o-mis-ud-
ains, the Little Tortoise ; 5 is 0-mush-kose, the Little
Elk, l)elonging, however, to the Bear totem ; belongs
to the ]\Ianfish totem, and 7 to the Catfish. The eve of
tlie leader has a line directed forwards to the President,
and another backAvards to the lakes ((S).

Tlie manner in which such })icture-writing would
ultimately have led to the use of an alphabet, would
probably have been tliat the drawuigs would have come
to represent, hrst a word, and then a sound, being at
tlie same time simplitied and conventionalised.

In some places of Western Europe, rock sculptures
have been discovered, to which we cannot yet safely
ascribe any meaning, but on which perhaps the more
complete study of the picture-writing of modern
savages may eventually throw some light.

\¥e will now pass to art as applied to the purposes
of personal decoration. Savages are passionately fond
of ornaments. In some of the very lowest races, indeed,
the women are almost undecorated, but that is only be-
cause the men keep all the ornaments themselves. As
a general rule, we may say that Southerners ornament
themselves. Northerners their clothes. In fact, all savage
races who leave much of their skin uncovered delight in
paiiithig themselves in the most brilliant colours they
can obtain. Black, white, red, and yellow are the
favourite, or rather, perlia})s, the commonest colours.
Although perfectly naked, the Australians of I>otany

SA VA GE OR NA ME NTS.

ft!

\hy were by no means without ornaments. They
painted themselves with red ochre, white chiy, and
charcoal ; the red was laid on in broad patches, the
white generally in stripes, or on the face in spots, often
Avith a circle round each eye ; ^ through the septum of
the nose they wore a bone as thick as a man's finger and
five or six inches long. This was of course very awk-
ward, as it prevented them from breathing freely through
the nose, but they submitted cheerfully to the incon-
venience for the sake of appearance.

They had also necklaces made of shells, neatly cut
and struno' too;etlier : earrin^rs, bracelets of small cord,
and strings of plaited human hair, which they wound
round their waists. Some also had gorgets of large
shells hauiiinii' from the neck across the breast. On all
these things they placed a high value.

Spix and Martins'- thus describe the oi'naments of a
Coroado Avoman : — ' On the cheek she had a circle, and
' over that two strokes ; under the nose several marks
' resemblino; an j\[ ; from the corners of the mouth to
' the middle of the cheek were two parallel lines, and
' below them on both sides many straight stripes ;
' ])elow and betA 'een her breasts there were s^me con-
' nected se^'ments of circles, and down licr arms the
'figure of a snake was depicted. This beauty wore no
' ornaments, except a necklace of monkeys' teeth.'

In Tanna ' one would jiave the one half of his face
'smeared with red clay, and the other the plain dark
* copper . ivin ; another Avould have the brow and cheeks
■ red : another W(juld have the brow red and cheeks

.i;-'

( 11

l' J s I

' IIawlc('S\\'ortir.s A'oyagos, vol. iii, p. 0".".
-' Travels in Brazil, vol. ii. p. 221.

,S. I VA (JE OUNA MJJX'J'S.

r/j

' l)Iack ; anotlicr all the face red, and a round, l)lack,
' glittering- spot on the forehead ; and another Avould have
'his face hlack all over. The black all over, by tlie way,
' was tlie sign of mourning.' ^

The savage also wears necklaces and rings, bracelets
and anklets, armlets and leglets — even, if I may say
so, bodylet«. Round their bodies, round their necks,
round their arms and leo's, their hnixers, and even their
toes, tliey wear ornaments of all kinds. Fro7n their
number and weiglit tliese nnist sometimes be very
inconvenient. Lichtenstein saw the wife of a l)eetuan
chief wearing no less than seventy-two l)rass rings.

A tSouth African chieftainess, visited by fjiving-
stone," wore ' eigliteen solid Imiss rings, as thick as
'one's hnger, on each leg, and three of co])])er under
'each knee; nineteen brass rings on her left arm, and
'eight of l)rass and copper on lier right; also a large
' ivory ring ;d30ve each elbow. She liad a pretty l:>ead
' necklace, and a bead sash encircled her waist.'

Xor are they particular as to the i rerial : copper,
l)rass, or iron, leather or ivory, stones, ells, glass, bits
of wood, seeds, or teeth — nothing < 'mes amiss. In
S(nu]i-East Island, one of the Loui^.ade Archipelago,
^I'Gillivray even saw several bracc^ -ts made eacli of a
lower luuuan jaw, crossed ])y a coll.ir-bone; and other
travellers have seen brass curtain ring>. the brass plates
for keyholes, the lids of sardin^j caso. and other such
incongruous objects worn Avith much gravity and ])ride.

Ihe Felatah ladies in Central Af^'u a spend several
hours a day over their toilet, in fact they l)egin ovcr-

I* 5

l.intr .\

i. I,

." ■*

:!^' *'■

^ Tr.rnev'.s Ninetfeii Years in Polynosia, ji. H.
- J'A-p. to llu' ZanilH'si, p. 2S4,

*!■■ ■•

!^^

■Hi

CHEEK STUDS—LABBETS.

night by carefully wrapping their fingers and toes in
henna leaves, so that by morning they are a rich
purple. Tlie teeth are stained alternately blue, yellow,
and purple, one here and there being left of its natural
colour, as a contrast. About the eyelids tliey are very
p.irticulnr; pencilling them with suli)huret oi antimony.
The hair is coloured carefully with indigo. Studs and
other jewellery are worn in great profusion.^

Not content witli hano-in"; thinijj.s round tlieir necks,
a^ms, ankles, and in fact wherever nature has enal^led
them to do so, savau^es also cut holes in themselves for
the purpose.

The Esquimaux from Mackenzie River westward
make two openings in their cheeks, one on each side,
which they gradually enlarge, and in which they wear
an ornament of stone resembling in form a large stud,
and which may therefore be called a cheek stud.
Brenchley saw the natives of the Solomon Islands
decorated by crabs' claws stuck in the cartilage of the
nose.^

Throughout a great part of Western America, and
again in Africa, we also find the custom of wearing a
piece of wood through the central part of the lower lip.
A small hole is made in the lip during infancy, and it is
then extended by degrees until it is sometimes as much
as two inches lono;.

Some races extend the lobe of the ear until it
reaches the shoulder ; others file the teeth in various
manners.

Thus, among the Kcjangs of Sumatra, 'both sexes

' Jjaird's livpodition into llio Intorior of Africa, vol. ii. p. 94.
^ ('i'ui,*(i of the ' C»iracoa,'p. 250.

and

sexes

ORNAMEiXTATIOK OF Till'J SKIX.

'have the extraordinary custom of filing and otherwise
' disfigurino- their teeth, which are naturally very white
' and beautiful, from the simplicity of their food. For
' files they make use of small wluitstones of different
' degrees of fineness, juid the patients lie on their backs
' during the operation. Many, i)artieularly women of
• the Lampong country, have their teeth rubl)ed down
' (juite even with the gums ; others have them formed
' in })oiuts, and some file off no more than the outer
' coat and extremities, in order that they may the
' better receive and retain the jetty Ijlackness with
' Avhicli they almost universally adorn them.' ^

In Dr. Davis's collection is a Dvak skull in whicli the
six front teeth have each been ari. tally pierced with a
small hole, into which a pin with a spherical brass head
has been driven. In this way, the u])per lip being
raised, the shinii.ig knob on each tooth would be dis-
played.^ Some of the African tribes also chip their
teeth in various manners, each conmiunity having a
fashion of its own.

Ornamentation of the skin is almost universal among
the lower races of men. In some cases every individual
follows his own fancy ; in others, each clan has a special
pattern. Thus, speaking of Abeokuta, Captain Burton^
says : — ' There was a variety of tattoos and orna-
' mentation, rendering them a serious difHeulty to
' strangers. The skin patterns were of every variety,
' from the diminutive })riek to the great gash and the
' large Ijoil-like lumps. They affected various figures
' — tortoises, alligators, and tlie favourite lizard, stars,

-Marsdtn's Ilisturv of Suiuati-a,

01'.

■^ Thtvjaunio Crauiuruin, p. 28!J.
^ Abeokuta, vol. i, p. 104.

'■ ; I

■'■;•' ': i

lif ' •^

ii:

!^;

r.2

TiniiE MAh'KS.

1 ■

. i

* concentric circle, lozcn^^es, riglit lines, welts, gouts of
'gore, ninrble or button-like knobs of flesb, and ele-
' Viited scars, resembling scalds, whieli are o])ened for
'the introduction of fetish medicines, and to ex])el evil
' influences. In this country every tribe, sub-tribe, Jind
' even family, has its blazon,^ whose infinite diversitica-
' tions may be compared with the lines and orduiaries
' of luu'opean heraldry.'

'The Ardrahs''^ make an incision in each cheek,
turning up a part of the flesh towards the ears and
healing it in that position. The Mahees are distin-
guished by three long oblique cuts on one cheek, and a
cross on the other.'

In South Africa the Nyambanas are characterised by
ti. row of pimples or warts, alwut the size of a pea, and
extending from tl'ie upper part of the forehead to tl^
tip of the nose. Among the Bachapin Kaffirs, those who
have distinguished themselves in battle are allowed the
privilege of marking their thigh with a long scar, which
is rendered indeliljle and of ti bluish colour by rubbinig
ashes into the fresh wound.

The tribal mark of the Bunns^ (Africa) consists €>r
three slashes from the crown of the head dcjwn the
fjice toward the mouth ; the ridges of flesh stand out
in bold relief. This painful operation is performed by
cutting the skm, and taking out a strip of flesh ; palm
oil and wood ashes are then rubbed into the wound,
thus causing a thick ridge. The Bornouese in Central
Africa have twenty cuts or lines on each side of th'^

Ik I '%

|. i • fe;

I* -^

1 See also Baikie's Exploring " Dalzel, History of Dahomy,

Voyage, pp. 77, 294, 336, and es- p. xviii.
pecially -ioO. ^ Traiits. Etbn. Soc, vol. v. p. 86.

TATTOOING.

uts of
1(1 de-
ed tor
{'1 evil
(', and
•siiiea-
iiinries

cheek,

I's and
distiii-
, and a

sed by
:!a, and

to the
se who
ed the

which
iibl)ing

ists of
n the

nd out

led by
palm

vound,
'entral
of the

Uahomy,
. V. p. 86.

■--ii

face, which are drawn from the corners of the mouth
towards the anu'les of tlie lower iaw and cheekbone.
They ha\'e also one cut in the centre of the forehead,
six on each arm, six on each Iclt, four on each l)reast,
and nine on each side, just above the hips. 'J'his makes
1)1 lari>\3 cuts, and the process is said to be extremely
>ainful on account of the heat and flies. ^

The islanders of Torres Straits ornament themselves
by a large oval scar, slightly raised and neatly made.
It is situ\Hted on the right shoulder, but some of them
have a secx)nd on the left. At Cape York many of the
natives also had two or three long transverse scars on
the chest. Many had also a two-horned mark on each
breast, but these difl'erences seemed to depend on the
tast<> of the individual.

The custom of tattooing is found almost all over
the world, though, as might be expected, it is most
developed in hot countries. In Siberia, however, the
Ostiak women tattoo the backs of the hands, the fore-
arm, and the front of the leg. The men only tattoo,
on the wrist, the mark or sign which stands as their

siu'nature.

Among the Tuski ^ ' the faces of the women are tat-
' tooed on the chin in diverging lines ; men only make
' a permanent mark on the face for an act of prow^ess
' or success, such as killing a bear, capturing a wliide,
' &c., and possibly also, in war time, for the death of an
* enemy.'

The Aleutian Islanders decorate their hands and
faces with figures of cpuidrupeds, birds, flowers, &c.

?;!■•;:

' Denhaiu, vol. iii. p. 1 7.3.
' I'allas, vol. iv. p. 50.

*' Hooper,
Tuski, p. ;J7.

Tlio TfuU of ihu

TATTOOINd

:i?

i :

Amon<r tlie Tuiiguscs the patterns are generally Ibrnied
by straight and curved lines. •

Among the Arabs '-^ 'the Aenezi women ]mnctiirc
'their lips and dye t^.em blue; the Serhlian women
' i)iinctin'e ibeir elieeks, breasts, and arms, and tlie
' Ammour women tlu'ir ankles.'

The Malagasy do not generally tattoo, but the
women of the lietsileo tribes, according to Mr. Camp-
bell,'^ have their arms 'tattooed all over, some of them
' having also a kind of open-work collar tattooed round
'their necks. The breasts of the men were ornamented
'after the sanu; fashion.'

Many of the hill tribes of India tattoo."^ Among
the Abors, for instance, the men have a cross on the
forehead ; the women a smaller one on the npper lip
just below the nose, and seven stripes under the month.
The Khyens are more extensively tattooed, with figures
of animals, 6cc. ; they admit that it is not ornamental, but
allege that they were driven to it because their women
WTre naturally so beautiful that they were constantly
carried off by neighbouring tribes. The Oraon women
have three marks on the brow and two on the temple,
while the men burn marks on their forearm.

The women of Brumer Island, on the south coast of
New Guinea, were tattooed on the face, arms, and front
of the body, but generally not on the back, in vertical
stri})es less than an inch ai)art, and connected by zigzag
markings. On the face these were more complicated,

? ti

' Miillt'i-'s Des. de toulss los
Nat. de TEiiip. de Ilussie, pt. iii.

pp. 58, n-2.

• Biirckhardt'a Notes on the Be-
duuius and Wahul)yt', vol. i. p. 51,

•'' Sibree's Madagascar and its
People, p. 221.

•» Daltons Des. Etbn. of Bengal,
pp. :;^- U4, 251.

TATTOO INCf.

6»

L"«l

ast of

front

jrtical

and or llic forearm and wrlsf tlicy were fncpieiitly
so elaborate as to reseiiil)lc laee-work.' The men were
more rarely tattooed, and then (»nly witli a few lines

or stars on the riuht breast. Sojiietii

mes, nowevei'

markings consisted of a double series of hirge stars and
dots stretehini;' from tlie sh(julder to the pit of tlic;
stomacli.

Xot content witli the ])aint ah'cady mentioned, the;
inlijibitants of Tanna have on tlieir ai'ms and chests
elevated sears, representing' [)huits, (lowers, stars, and

i'lie inhal)itants of 'I'azovaii,
fid

various other iiii'uiv;

'or bormosa, l)y a very [>anihil oj»eration, impress on
'their naked skins various figures of trees, ilowers,
' and animals. The Ljreat men in (luinea have their
'skin [lowered like damask ; and in l)eean the W(»men
'likewise have ilowers cut into their flesh on the fore-
' head, the arms, and the breast, and the elevated sears
'arc painted in colours, and exhibit the ap[)earance of
' flowered damask.' -

In the Toni>a Islands ' tlu; men arc tattooed from
' the middle of the thigh to above the hips. The women
'are only tattooed on the arms and fingers, and there
' very slightly.' '' In the Fcejec Islands, on the con-
trary, the women are tattooed and not the men.

In the Gambler Islands, Iieeehey says,' • tattooing is
' so nniversally practised, that it is rare to meet a man
' without it ; and it is carried to such an extent that
' the figure is sometimes covered with small checkered
' lines from the neck to the ankles, thougli the breast is

•M.r;

• *

' M'Gillivrav"^ Vuyii«j:e oi' llu'
' Rattlesnake/ vol. i. \\. 2(ii?.

- Forstcr's Obseivation

111

p. 588.

^ Cooks Vova<ijo towards the
oi

a«le South Polo, vol. i.

!1(

during a Voyanre round tbo World,

Ececliev,

vol. 1. |)

1.38.

^.v^.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

1.1

■tt iiii 122
Sf U£ 12.0

IL25 1111.4

»^ A

Hiotographic

Sciences

CorpoKiilion

■d^

'^^^i^^^

^.V'

23 WIST MAIN STIiiT

WfBSTIt,N.Y. I4S80

(716)S72-4S03

4^^

^>%^

\t^
V

TATTOOING.

■ t

l\\

' "generally cxonipt, or only ornaincntt'd with a single
' device. Ill some, ji^cnerally elderly men, the face is
' covered below the eyes, in which case the lines or net-
' work are more open than on other parts of the body,
' probably on account of the pain of the operation, and
' terminate at the ni)per jjart in a strai«iht line from ear
' to ear, passing over the bridge of the nose. With
' these excej)tions, to which we may add the fashion,
' with some few, of bbie lines, resembling stockings,
' from the middlt; of the thiij^h to the ankle, the effect is
' becoming, and in a great measure destroys the appear-
* ance of nakedness. The patterns Avhich most improve
' the shape, and whicli api)ear to me peculiar to this
' group, are those which extend from the armpits to
' the hii)s, and are drawn forward with a curve which
' seems to contract the waist, and at a short distance
' gives the figure an elegance and outline, not unlike
' that of the figures seen on the walls of the Egyptian
' tond)s.'

Fig. 12 represents a Caroline Islander, after Frey-
cinet, and gives an idea of the tattooing, though it
cannot be taken as representing the form or features
characteristic of those islanders.

The tattooing of the Sandwich Islanders is less
ornamental, the devices beiui*', according: to Arasfo,
' unmeaning and whimsical, without taste, and in general
'l)adly executed.' ^ IVrhaps, however, the most beau-
tiful of all was that of the New Zealanders (see figs.
13 and 11), who were generally tattooed in ciu'ved or
spiral lines. The i)rocess is extremely [>ainful, par-
ticularly on the lips ; but to shrink from it. or even to

' Arago'sliotters, pt. ii. p. 147.

TATTOOmO.

•37

sIjow any .si<(ns of siitterin<r wliilc under the operation,
would Ix; tIioii«''lit very unmanly. The nativets used
the ' Moko ' or pattern of their tattooing as a kind of

Fio. 12.

CAKOLIXK ],«r,.\M»i:H.

sionnturc. The women have their lips tattooed with
horizontal lines. To have red lips is thought to he a
great reproaeh.^

' For (Iftails of Polynesian tat- ])luiiii^' I'lxiu'dilion : Ktliiingiapliy,
tooinp: see Ilnle's United JStates Kx- l». 10.

ARTIF1CTAL ALTERATJON OF FORM.

When tastefully executed, tjittooin;^ has Ixien ro-
j^arded by many travellers as a real ornament. Thus
Laird says that some (jf the tattooinj^ in West Africa
' in the absence of clothin<j^ gives a iinish to the skin.' ^

Many similar cases might be given in which savages
ornament themselves, as they suppose, in a manner which
nuist be very painful. Pcrliaps none is more renuu'kable

Fig. la.

lM(i. 14.

HEAD OF NEW ZEALANUUR.

HEAD OF NEW ZEALANDEB.

than the practice which we lind in several parts of the
world of modifying the human form by means of tight
bandages. The small size of the Chhiesc ladies' feet is
a well-known case, but is scarcely less mischievous than
the compression of the waist as pract'sed in Europe.
The Samoans**^ and some of the American tribes even
modified the form of the head. One would have su})-

' Xarrativoof nil Expetlition into * Turner's Nineteen Years in Poly-

tho Interior of Africa, vol. i. p. 291. nesia, p. 17o.

■5t L-,:i

"■f

I ^

i J

it M

;

Platr II.

F3BJSEAN MODES OP D3E33IN0 THE HAIR.

IIATRDJfl'JSSIXa.

♦)0

posed that any such c<nn[)ri'ssi()n would have; oxcrcisv'd
u very prejudicial eftcct on tlic intellect ; but, as far as
the existing; evidence fi^oes, it does not appear to do so.

The niod(; of dealin«( with the hair varies very much
in different races. Some races remove it almost entirely,
some leave a ridi^c al()n«»; the top of the head ; the KafHr
wearr; a round rinL( of hair ; the North American Indian
rejj^ards it as a point of honour to leave one tuft, in case
lie ever has the misfortune of ljein<^ defeated, for it would
he m(!an to cheat his victor of the scalp, the recognised
emblem of con<piest.

The Islanders of Torres Straits twist their hair into
long pipe-like ringlets, and also wear a kind of wig i)rc-
pared in the same fashion. Sometimes they shave the
head, leaving a transverse crest of hair. At Cape York
the hair is almost always kept sliort.^ In Tanna the
women wear it short, but have it all laid out in a forest
of little erect curls, about an inch and a l»alf long.
The men wear it twelve and eighteen inches long,
and have it divided into some six or seven hundred
little locks or tresses. Jieginning at the roots, every one
of these is carei'ully wound round by the thin rind of a
creeping i)lant, giving it the apj»earance of a i)iece of
twine. The ends are left ex[)osed for about two inches,
and oiled and curled. -

The Feejeeans give a great deal of time and attention
to their hair, as is shown in PI. II, ^lost of the chiefs
have a special hairdresser, to whom they sometimes
devote several hours a day. Their heads of hair are
often more than three feet in circunifereiice, and Mr.

' M'Gillivray's Voyago of tbe ^ Turner's Nineteoii Yfars in

' Rnttlfsnakt',' pp. 1 1, l.{. Polynesia, p. 77.

}• *l

hfV

'Mm

m 1

FIJEJEE ITATRDRESSES.

lU'

'II '

i 1

WilliiunH moasurt'd one whicli was nearly tivc feet round.
This forces them to sleej) on narrow wooden pillowH or
neek-rests, wliieh niiist he very nnconifortahle. They
also <lye the liair. IMack is the natural and favourite
coloin*, hut soiuc prefer white, flaxen, or ])ri«(ht red.

'On one li(!ad,' says Mr. Williams,' 'all the luur is
'of a uniform heiu^ht ; hut one-third in front is ashy or
' sandy, and tlu; rest hlaek, a sharply deliiu'd sejmratiou
' divi<rmi»" the two colours. Not a few are so inffeniously
'grotesque as to a|)pear as if done purposely to excite
' lau«j^hter. One has a lari»'e knot of fiery hair on his

* crown, all tlie rest of his head l)ein<^ hald. Another
' has the most of liis haircut aAvay, leavinu; three or four
' rows of small clusters, as if his head were planted with
' small paint-hrushes. A third has his head bare except
' where a hir«j^e })atcli i>rojccts over each temple. One,
' two, or three cords of twisted hair often fall from the

* ri«^ht temple, a foot ()r eii;hteen inches long. Some

* men wear a numher of these braids, so as to form a
' curtain at the back oi' the neck, reaching from one ear
' to the other. A mode that requires gi*eat care has
' the hair brou<»:ht into distinct locks radiatinff from the
' head. Each lock is a perfect cone about seven inches
' long, having the base outwards ; so that the surface of
' the hair is marked out into a great number of small
' circles, the ends being turned in in each lock, towards
' the centre of the cone.' '^ In some of the I^acific
Islands the natives wear wigs, or tresses of hair, in
addition to their own."

' Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i. p. p. 338, ef neq.
158. ■' Tlale's United States Expl.

'^ See, for many furtlicr par- Expedition: I'^thnography, p, 12.
ticulars, Darwin's Descent of Man,

so irifA X HA ini) h'i'jss.

Sclnveinfurtli (loscril>es a ilsmdy, lM'l<>M«,ni>jLJ: to thv.
|)inkaH, a nejjfn) trilK» of tl»e Soudan, whose liair wan
dyed red, and trained np into pointH like ton^j^uen of
Hanie, standin*^ stiilly up, all round his head.

Jn fact, the passion for self-ornanicntation seems to
]>revail anionj^st the lowest as much as, if not more than,
anioniT the more civilised races of man.

spl.

• I

;

rilAPTEU III.

MAUIUAUK AND HKLATIONSIIII'.

1^(»TIlIX(i}, ])orlinp8, ^ivi^s a more iiistnictivc insi<r|it
-^^ into the tnio coiulition of s!iva«rt'« than tlioir ulvas
on tne subjt'ct of ri^latlonship and niarriai^e ; nor can
tin; ^rc^at a(lvanta«(('s of civilisation ho more conclusively
])rovc<l than by the iinprovoincnt which it has already
offectcd in the relation between the two .sexes.

Marriage, and the relationship of a child to its father
and mother, seem to us so natural and obvious, that we
arc a|)t to h)ok on them as aboriginal and general to
the human race. This, hoAvever, is very far from Ix'ing
the case. The lowest races have no institution of mar-
riage ; true love is almost unknown among them ; and
marriage, in its lowest i)hases, is by no means a matter
of affection and comi)anionship.

The Hottentots, says Kolben,^ 'are so cold and in-
' different to one another that you would think there
' was no such thing as love between them.' Among the
Koussa Kaffirs, Lichtenstein asserts that there is 'no
' feeling of love in marriage.' '^ In North America, the
Tinn(5 Indians had no word for ' dear ' or ' beloved ; '
and the Algoniiuin language is stated to have contained
no verb meaning ' to love ; ' so that when the r>ible was

' Kolben's Hist, of Uie Cjipo of ^ Travels in South Africa, vol. i.

Good Hope, vol. i. p. 102. p. I'd.

'i'///'; VOSITION OF W'OMEX AMONd SAVArUIS. 73

tninsluti'd by tlie inissionaruss into tlmt langiuige it
was necessary to invent a word for tlie purpose.

' In liis native state,' says Mr. IMorj^nn/ ' the (North
' American) Indian is heh)\v the passion of love. It is
' entirely unknown amonj; tlieni, with th(? exception, to
' a limited extent, of the village Indians.' He men-
tions elsewhere a eas(> of an Ahahiu^lin woman named

• Kthahe,' who had U'en married for three yt-ars to a
lilaekl'oot Indian, yet there was no common articulate
lani'ua'^e which they both understood. They connnuni-
cated entirely by si«»-ns, neither of them having taken
the trouble to learn the other's language.*''

Though the songs of savages are generally devoted
to the chase, war, or women, they can very rarely be
called love songs. Dr. Mitchell, for instance, who was
ibr several years chairman of the United States Senate
('ommittee on Indian Affairs, mentions that ' neither
' among the Osages nor the Cherokees couM there be
' found a single poetical or nuisical sentiment, founded
'on the tender passion between the sexes. Though
' often asked, they produced no songs of love.' ^

In Yariba (Central Africa),* says Lander, ' nuirriage
' is celebrated by the natives as unconcernedly as pos-
' sible : a man thinks as little of taking a wife as of
' cutting an ear of corn — affection is altogether out of

• tlie question.' The King of Boussa,^ he tells us in
another place, ' when he is not engaged in public affairs,
' usually employs all his leisure hours in superintending

'' I

' Systems of Consanguinity and 317.
AlUuity of the Human Family, p. * R. and J. Lander's Nifjfer Ex-

207. pedition, vol. i. p. 101.

'' Loc. cit. p. 227. ' Ibid. vol. ii. p. 106. See also

^ Arcboeol, Americana, toI. i. p. p. 107.

' I

^" i

. 1
V i

74 Aiisi':\('i-: or A/'FEnrrnN ix MAuujMn:.

Mlic oortipatioiiH of his IkmihcIioM, niid iiiiikiii;^ liis nwii
'clotlK^H. The Midiki (((lU'i'ii) and ht> hnve <iistinct
' cHttihliMhiiu'iits, (lividod fortiiiicH, and scparatu into-
* rcKts ; indi'iMi, they a|)|>car to have n<)tirm<^ in eoni-
' nion witli each otlier, and yet we liave never Heen so
'friendly a eoiiple Hinee h!avin<if our native country.'
On th(! (iold Coast, 'not (!ven tlie appearane*' of
' afFeetion exists JK'tween lnisl>and and wife.'' Ainon^^
th(; Mandin;^ocs inarria^^t; is nxi'ely a I'orin of re«::uhited
slavery. IIus])and and wife 'never lauju'li nr joke to-
';^^ether.' ' I asked l>al)a,' says (-aillie, 'why he did not
'sometimes maki; merry with liis wives. He replie<l
' tliat if \\v did lie sliould not ])e {d)le to mana^i; them,
' for tliey woidd lau<ili at him when he ordered them to
' do anythinii-.' '^

Aceordinji^ to Galton, Dammara women 'divorce
'themselves as often as they like ; ... in fact, the
' spouse was clian«^ed ahnost weekly, and I seldom knew,
' without inquiry, who \\\q pro-tiiiijtorc husband of each
' lady was at any particular time.' ''

In India, the Hill tribes of Chittagong, says Captain
I.cwin, re«jfard marria<j^e ' as a mere animal and con-
' venient connection ; ' as the ' means of getting their
'dinner cooked. They have no idea of tenderness, nor
' of chivalrous devotion.' *

Among the Samoyedes^ of Siberia the husbands
show little affection for their wives, and, according to
Pallas, 'daignent ii peine leur dire nne jiarolc dc
' doucenr.' Further East, in the Aleutian Islands, the

* Burton's Mission to the King ' Hill Tracts of Chittapong,

of Dahomoy, vol. ii. p. 100. p. 1 10.

2 Travels, vol. i. p. 350. " Pallas's Voynges, vol. iv. p. 04.
^ Tropical South Africa, p. 107.

Aiisi<:s('i: OF AFFi'icnos ts mauuiahi:.

<•»

marrljiufOM, noconlinjjf to Miillrr,' ' iiH'rit<'iit a iM-iiic Ic
'iiitin;* nii<l tlic (iicts lie niciitiniis ^<i far to jiistity this

Ht!it«'inOllt.

Aiiion«r tlic (iiiya<Minis of I*ara_i,niMy 'tin- ImhmIh of

* niatriiiKmy arc so very slii^lit, tliat wlicii flic parties do

* not likiM'acli other they si'parate without any further
' j'en'inony. In other resjH'cts th<'y <h» not appear to
'hase tlie most <listant notions of tliat hashlnhiess so

* natural to tlie rest of nuinkind.' '^ The (Juaranis seem

to h

il:

onilit

ion,

lave hee!i in a very similar e«
In North America the marriage tie was l)y lut means
reiXaifletl as of a relijjfious eliaraeti'r.'*

In Australia 'littK' real atfej'tion exists hetweeii

• hushands and wives: and youn;»' im-n vahie a wife?

* principally for her services as a slave ; in fact, when
'asked why they arc anxious to ohtain wives, their
' usual reply is, that they may jii;et wood, water, and
' f<»od for them, and carry whatever property they
' possess.' •''

The position of women in Australia seems iiuh'eu
to he wretched in the extreme. Thev are treated
with the utmost brutalit}^, beaten and >eared mi the
limbs on the most trivial provocati<m. Tew women,
says I'lyro, 'will be found, upon examinatifm, to be free
' from fri<;htful scars upon the hea<l, or the marks of
' sj)ear wounds about the body. I have seen a y

onn
)ear(

' woman who, from the number of these marks, ap|)eared
* to have been almost rid<lled with spear wounds. If

' Dos. do tniites los Nat. de l'I'<m- Azam, vol. ii. p. OC
pile do Itiissie, part iii. p. 12f>. ' .Tonos, Antiqiiitios of the

' Charlovoix IHst. of Paraguay, Soiilhoni Indians, p. Ci7.
vol. i. p, 01. * l-'vroV Disrovi'rios, vol. ii. p.

' Zor. rif. p. 352. Soc also 3Jl. Sue notos.

..,,-

'r'

'' "fk-;

■ .

ttf f

!i! i

1 •

UELATIONSIITP AMONG SAVAGES.

' at all good-looking, their position is, if possible, even
' worse than otherwise.'

Again, our family system, which regards a child as
equally related to his father and his mother, seems so
natural that Ave experience a feeling of sur[)risc on
meeting with any other system. Yet we shall lind, I
think, reason for concluding that a man was first re-
garded as merely related to his tribe ; then to his
mother but not to his father; then to his father and
not to liis mother ; and only at last to both father and
mother. Even among the Komans the family was
originally based, not on marriage or on relationship,
but on power ; ^ ' le lien seul,' says Ortolan, ' de la pa-
' rente naturelle, de la parente de sang, n'est rien chez les
' Komains ; ' and a man's wife and children only formed
a part of his family, not because they were his relatives,
but because they were subject to his control ; so that a
son who was emancipated — that is to say, made free —
had no share in the inheritance, having ceased to belong
to the family. We shall, however, be better able to
understand this part of the question when we have con-
sidered the various phases which marriage presents ; for
it is by no means of a uniform character, but takes
almost every possible form. In some cases nothing of
the sort appears to exist at all ; in others it is essentially
temporary, and exists only till the birth of the child,
when both man and woman are free to mate themselves
afresh. In others, the man buys the woman, who
becomes as much his property as his horse or his dog.

In Sumatra there were formerly three perfectly dis-

' Ortolan's Expl. Hist, des In&tituts de TEmp. Justiuien, vol. i. pp.
12G, 128, 130, 41G.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF MAUltlAGE,

1. pp.

tinct kinds of nuirriage : tlie ' »JLigur.' in which the man
purchased the woman ; the ' Ambel-anak,' in whicli the
woman purchased the man ; and the ' Semando,' in
which they joined on terms of equaUty. In the mode of
marriage by Ambel-anak, says Marsden,^ ' tlie father
' of a virgin makes a choice of some young man for her
' husband, generally from an inferior family, which rc-
' nounces all further right to, or interest in, him ; and
' he is taken into the house of his father-in-law, who
' kills a buffalo on the occasion, and receives twenty
' dollars from his son's relations. After this, the buruk
' baik' nia (the good and bad of him) is invested in the
' wife's family. If he murders or robs, they pay the
' bafigun, or fine. If he is murdered, they receive the
' bangun. They are lia])le to any debts he may con-
' tract in marriage ; those prior to it remaining with
' his parents. He lives in the family, in a state between
' that of a son and a debtor. He partakes as a son of
' what the liouse aifords, but has no property in himself.
' His ric'i plantation, the produce of his pei)j)er garden,
' with everything that he can gain or earn, belongs
' to the family. He is liable to be divorced at their
' pleasure, and though he has children, must leave all,
' and return naked as he came.'

In the Jugur marriage the woman became the pro-
potty of the man.

'The Semando''^ is a regular treaty between the
' parties, on the footing of equality. The adat paid to
' the girl's friends has usually been twelve dollars.
' The agreement stipulates that all effects, gains, or
' earnings are to be equally the property of both ; and,

» Maisden's Hist, of Sumatrn, p. 2G2. - Ibid. p. 263.

it- t

- .

■'J

BIFFEUENT KINDS OF MARRIAGE.

* in case of divorce l)y mutual consent, the stock, debts,
' and credits are to be equally divided. If the man only

* insists on the divorce, he gives the woman her half of
' the effects, and loses the twelve dollars he has paid.
' If the woman only claims the divorce, she forfeits her
' right to the proportion of the effects, but is entitled
'to keep her tikar, bantal, and dandan (paraphernalia),
' and her relations are liable to pay back the twelve
' dollars ; but it is seldom demanded. This mode,
' doubtless the mcst conformable to our ideas of con-
' jugal right and felicity, is that which the chiefs of the
' Kejang country have formally consented to establish
' throughout their jurisdiction, and to their orders the
' influence of the Malayan priests will contribute to give
' efficacy.'

These three forms of marriage, co-existing in Sumatra,
represent, as we shall see, three stages passed through
successively by various other races.

The Hassaniyeh Arabs have a very curious form
of marriage, which may be called 'three-quarter'
marriage ; that is to say, the woman is legally married
for three days out of four, remaining perfectly free for
the fourth.

In Ceylon there were two kinds of marriage — the
Deega marriage, and the Beena marriage. In the
former the woman went to her husband's hut ; in the
latter the man transferred himself to that of the woman.
Moreover, according to Davy, marriages in Ceylon
were provisional for the first fortnight, at the expi-
ration of which period they were either annulled or
confirmed.^

' Davy's Ceylou, p. '28ii.

DIFFEIiENT KINDS OF MA If HUGE.

Amon<'* the Hoinans, as .shown ])y tlic Laws of tlie
TA\elve Tables, there were in reality two kinds oi mar-
riage, and, as Ortolan says, ' il faut se bien garder de con-
fondre entre eux le mariage (nuptite, jiistaj nuptia;, jns-
tiini niatrimonium) et la puissance niaritale (manus).' ^
The latter required the performance of ceremonies, which
wx're unnecessary for the former.

Among the Karoks, marriage is strictly a matter of
])urchase : wdien a young man has paid the price of his
l)ride, she becomes his property ; on the other hand, if
he cannot provide the whole sum he is sometimes al-
lowed to pay a portion, and become what is called ' half-
married.' In that case, instead of bringing her to his
cabin, and making her his slave, he goes to hers and
becomes subject to her, or rather to her father. Azara
tells us that among the Guanas carefid stipulations were
made as to the duties and obligations the bride imder-
took with reference to her husband : how far she was
bound to i)rovide him food, whether she was to procure
the necessary firewood, whether she was to be the sole
wife, whether she was to be free to marry another man
also, and in that case how" much of her time the first
husband wished to eno-jme.

In Japan, among the higher classes, it is said that
the eldest son brings his bride to the j)aternal home ;
but, on the other hand, the eldest daughter does the
same, and retains her name, which is assumed by the
bridegroom. Thus the wife of an eldest sons joins her
hu.sl)and's fnmily ; but, on the other linnd, tlie husl)and
of an eldest daughter enters into tliat of his wife.
Among the Komans, though ' coemptio,' or purchase,

' Ortolan's Expl. Iliijt. dc't> Inst, do IL'mp. Juslinu'n, p. 127.

■xi.

"•i

HP^

:'ff'

■1^

t;"'*'vJ

POLYANDRY.

was one of the recognised forms of marriage, it would
seem that originally this merely gave possession, and
a woman who belonged to any man by coemptio might
otherwise be married to another.^ Hence the eldest son
of one family cannot marry the eldest daughter of an-
other. As regards the yoimger children, if the husband's
fatlicr provides the liouse, the wife takes her husband's
name : while if the bride's father docs so, the bridegroom
assumes that of his wife."

Among the K eddies '"^ of Southern India a very
singular custom prevails : — ' A young woman of sixteen
or twenty years of age may be married to a boy of five
or six years ! She, however, lives with some other
adult male — perhaps a maternal uncle or cousin — but
is not allowed to form a connection with the father's
relatives ; occasionally it may be the boy-husband's
father himself — that is, the woman's father-in-law!
Should there be children from these liaisons, they are
fathered on the boy-husband. When the boy grows
up, the wife is either old or past child-bearing, when
he in his turn takes up with some other " boy's " wife
in a manner precisely similar to his own, and procreates
children for the boy-husband.'

Polyandry, or the marriage of one woman to several
men at once, is more common than is generally sup-
posed, though much less so than polygamy, which is
almost universally permitted among the lower races of
men. One reason — though I do not say the only one —

• Fu,«tal de C'oulonges, La Citd Family, p. 428.
Antique, p. ."iyO. ' Short t, Trans. Ethn. Soc, New

- Morgan's System of Consan- Scries, vol. vii. p, 104.
guinity and Affinity of the Human

SEPARATION OF HUSBAND AND WIFE.

several
sup-

for this, is obvious when pointed ont. Long after our
children are weaned, milk remains an important and
necessary part of their food. We supply this want with
cow's milk ; but among people who have no domesti-
cated animals this cannot, of course, be done, and con-
sequently the children are not weaned until they are
two, three, or even four years old, during all which period
the husband and wife generally remain apart. Thus,
in Feejee, ' the relatives of a woman take it as a public
' insult if any child should be born before the customary
'three or four years have elapsed, and they consider
' themselves in duty bound to avenge it in an equally
' public manner.' ^

It seems to us natural and proper that husband and
wife should enjoy as much as possible the society of
one another. On the contrary, among the Turkomans,
according to Fraser, for six months or a year, or even
sometimes two years, after a marriage, the husband was
only allowed to visit his wife by stealth. ' After tlie
' wedding,' says Hurnes, ' the bride returns to the house of
' her parents, and passes a year in preparing the caq)ets
' and clothes, which are necessary for a Toorkmun tent ;
' and on the anniversary of her elopement, she is finally
' transferred to the arms end house of her gallant lover."'^

Among the Samoyedes the bride and bridegroom
are kept apart for a month after their marriage,^ and
Klemm states that the same is the case among the Cir-
cassians until the first child is born. Martins mentions
the existence of a similar custom among ^lome of the

;'■■/;!

loc, New

' Seemann, A Mission to Fiji, vol. ii. p. 50. See also VainWry'a
p. 101 . Travels in Central Asia, p. 323.

^ Burnes' Travels in Bokhara, ^ Piilliiti, vol. iii. \\ 70.

•>»

■ ■i

> «

I ■"!■

■t

SEPARATION OF HUSBAND AND WIFE.

Brazilian tribes.^ Among the Feejeeans, husbands and
wives do not usually spend the night together, except
as it were by stealth. It is quite contrary to Feejeean
ideas of delicacy that they should sleep under the same
roof. A man spends his day with his family, but
absents himself on the approach of night.^ In Chitta-
gong (India), although, ' according to European ideas,
' the standard of morality among the Kyoungtha is low,'
yet husband and wife are on no account permitted to
sleep together until seven days after mjirriage.^

Burckhardt * states, that in Arabia, after the wedding,
if it can be called so, the bride returns to her mother's
tent, but again runs away in the evening, and repeats
these flights several times, till she finally returns to her
tent. She does not go to live in her husband's tent for
some months, perhaps not even till a full year, from the
wedding-day. Among the Votyaks, some weeks after
the wedding the bride returns to her father's tent, and
lives there for two or three months, sometimes even for
a year, during which time she dresses and behaves like
a girl, and after which she returns to her husband ;
making, however, even on the second occasion, a show
of resistance.^

Lafitau informs us that among the North American
Indians the husband only visits the wife as it were by
stealth: — ' lis n'osent aller dans les cabanes particulieres,
* oil habitent leurs epouses, que durant I'obscurite de la

' Jour. Roy. Geog. Soc. vol, ii.
p. 108.

" Seemann's Mission to Viti, p.
191.

3 Lewin's Hill Tracts of Chitta-
gong, p. 51.

* Burckliai'dt's Notes, vol. ii. p.
2G9, quoted in M'Lennan's Primitive
Marriage, p. 302.

• MuUer's Des. de toutes les
Nations de I'Emp. de Russia, part
ii. p. 71.

ABSENCE OF MARBIAGE CEREMONY.

* nuit ; . . . ce serait ime action extraordinaire de s'y
' presenter le jour.' ^

In Futa, one of the West African kingdoms, it is
said that no husband is allowed to see his wife's face
until he has been three years married.

In Sparta, and in Crete, according to Xenophon and
Strabo, it was the custom that married people for some
time after the wedding only saw one another as it were
clandestinely ; and a similar custom is said to have
existed among the Lycians. So far as I am aware, no
satisfactory explanation of this custom has yet been
given. I shall, however, presently venture to suggest
one.

There are many cases in which savages have no such
thing as any ceremony in marriage. ' I have said nothing,'
says Metz, ' about the marriage ceremonies of the Bada-
'gas (Hindostan), because they can scarcely be said to
' have any.' The Kurumbas, another tribe of the Neil-
gherry Hills, ' have no marriage ceremony.' '^ According
to Colonel Dalton,^ the Keriahs of Central India ' have no
' word for marriage in their own language, and the only
' ceremony used appears to be little more than a sort of
' public recognition of the fact.' It is very singular, he
adds elsewhere, ' that of the many intelligent observers
' who have visited and written on Butan, not one has
' been able to tell us that they have such an institution
' as a marriage ceremony.' The tie between man and
woman seems to be very slight, and to be a mere matter
of servitude. ' From my own observation,' he continues,
'I believe the Butias to be utterly indifferent on the

' Loc. cit. vol. i. p. 670.

^ Trans. Ethn. Soc. vol. vii. p.

276.

' Ibid. vol. vi. p. 25.

i. ^:?'?-,r,

•2:Vt

■ ' ■ . KtP.n n

Via

ABSENCE OF MARRIAGE CEREMONY.

} '

* subject of the honour of cheir women.' ^ So also the
Spanish missionaries found no word for marriage, nor
any marriage ceremony, among the Indians of Cali-
fornia.^ Farther nortli, among the Kutchin Indians,

* there is no ceremony observed at marriage or birth.' '
The same is the case among the Aleutians,* and several
other North Pacific tribes.

The marital rite, says Schoolcraft, ' among our tribes '
(i.e. the Redskins of the United States) ' is nothing more
' than the personal consent of the parties, without re-
' quiring any concurrent act of a priesthood, a magistracy

* or witnesses ; the act is assumed by the parties, without

* the necessity of any extraneous sanction.' ^

According to Brett, there is no marriage ceremony
among the Arawaks of South America.^ Martins makes
the same assertion with reference to the Brazilians
generally,^ and it is also the case with some of the
Australian tribes.^

There is, says Bruce, ' no such thing as marriage in

* Abyssinia, unless that which is contracted by mutual

* consent, without other form, subsisting only till dis-

* solved by dissent of one or other, and to be renewed

* or repeated as often as it is agreeable to both parties,
' who, when they please, live together again as man and
' wife, after having been divorced, had children by others,
' or whether they have been married, or had children

* with others or not. I remember to have once been at

» Des. Ethn. of Bengal, p. 07.

' Bagaert, Smithsonian Report,
1863, p. 308. Bancroft, vol. i. p. 565.

' Smithsonian Report, 1866, p.
326.

♦ Bancroft, vol. i. pp. 92, 277.

yio.

* Indian Tribes, pp. 248, 132.

^ Guiana, p. 101.

^ Loc. cit, p. 61.

^ Eyre's Discoveries, vol. ii. p.

ABSENCE OF MAJIRIAOE CEREMONY.

8r»

' Koscam in presence of the Itej^lic (the queen), wlien,
' in the circle, there was a woman of great quality, and
' seven men who had all been her huHhauds, none of
' whom was the happy spouse at that time.* An<l yet
' there is no country in the world where there are so
' many churches.' ^ Among the Bedouin Arabs there is
a marriage ceremony in the case of a girl, but the re-
marriage of a widow is not thought sufficiently im-
portant to deserve one. Speke says, * there are no such
'things as marriages in Uganda.' *

Of the Mandingoes (West Africa), Caillie*says that
husband and wife are not united by any ceremony ; and
Hutton ^ makes the same statement as regards the Ash-
antces. In Congo and Angola ® ' they use no peculiar
' ceremonies in marriage, nor scarce trouble themselves
' for consent of friends.' Le Vaillant says that there are
no marriage ceremonies among the Hottentots ; ^ and the
Bushmen, according to Mr. Wood, had in their language
no means of distinguishing an unmarried from a married
girl.®

In Northern Asia the Tunguses are said to have no
marriage ceremony.

Yet we must not assume that marriage is necessarily
and always lightly regarded, where it is unaccompanied
by ceremonial. Thus, ' marriage in this island (Tahiti),
' as appeared to us,' says Cook, ' is nothing more than
' an agreement between the man and woman, with which

' Bruce's Travels, vol. iv. p. 487.
' Ibid. vol. V. p. 1.
' Journal, p. 301.
■• Loc. cit. vol. i. p. 350.
* Kleram, Cultur d. Menschen,
vol. iii. p. 280.

• Astley's Coll. of Voyages, vol.
iii. pp. 221," 227.

^ Voya<res, vol. ii. p. 58.

^ Natural Jlistory of Man, vol. i.
p. 209.

Tf'V .]

■!•■

■f

MARRIAGE CEREMONIES.

; 1

• *

■.j» I

• . :

■. i

. 1
\

' the priest has no concern. Where it is contracted it

* ap|)ear8 to be pretty well kept, though sometimes
' the parties separate by mutual consent, and in that
'case a divorce takes place with as little trouble as
' the marriage. But though the priesthood has laid

* the people under no tax for a nuptial benediction,

* there are two operations which it has appropriated,
' and from which it derives considerable advantages.
' One is tattooing, and the other circumcision.' ' Yet
he elsewhere informs us that married women in Tahiti
are as faithful to their husbands as in any other part of
the world.

We must bear in mind that there is a great distinction
between what may be called ' lax ' and ' brittle * mar-
riages. In some countries the marriage tie may be
broken with the greatest ease, and yet, as long as it lasts,
is strictly respected ; while in other countries the very
reverse is the case.

Perhaps on the whole any marriage ceremony is
better than none at all, but some races \iave practices at
marriage which are extremely objectionable. Some, also,
are very curious, and no dcubt symbolical. At Banabe,
one of the Micronesian Pacific Islands, the wife is
tattooed Avith the marks standing for the names of her
husband's ancestors.''^ One portion of the marriage
ceremony among the Mimdaris, one of the Bengal Hill
tribes, is very suggestive. The bride walks in front of
the bridegroom with a pitcher of water on her head,
supported by one arm. The bridegroom walks behind,

' Cook's Voyage Round the
World, Ilawkesworth's Voyages,
vol. ii. p. 240. For Uuroliiie Is-
lands, see Kleium, loc. cit. vol iv.

p. 209.

» Hale's United States Explor.
Exped. : Ethnography, ?. 7tt.

MARRIAGE CEREMONIES.

and through the pretty loopliole thuw formed he 8lioots
an arrow. The girl walks on to where tlie arrow falls,
picks it up with lier foot, takes it into her hand, and re-
spectfully returns it to her Iiusband.^ In many parts
of India, bride and bridegroom are marked with one
another's blood, probably to signify the intimate union
which has taken place between them. This is the
custom, for instance, among tlie IJirhors. Colonel Dal-
ton believes this to be ' the origin of the custom now so
' universal of marking with red lead.' * In other cases
the idea symbolised is less obvious. Among some of the
Hindoo tribes the bride and bridegroom are respectively
married to trees in the lirst instance, and subsequently
to one another. Thus a Kurmi bridegroom is married
to a mango, his bride to a malwa tree.'^ The idea un-
derlying this I take to be that they are thus devoted to
tlie deities of the Mango and Malwa, and having thus
become respectively tabooed to other men and women,
are, with the consent of the deities, espoused to one
another.

In ancient Russia as part of the marriage ceremony,
the father took a new whip, and after striking his
daughter gently with it, told her that he did so for the
last time, and now^ presented the whip to the bride-
groom, to whose power she then passed.*

Among the Canadian Indians, Carver^ says that
when the chief has pronounced the pair to be married,
'the bridegroom turns round, and, bending his body,
'takes his wife on his back, in whicli manner he carries

' Dalton's Des. Ethn. of Bengal,
p. 105.

- ZfeiV/. pp. 220, 310.
» Itrid. p. 310.

' Meiners, Vergl. d»'s alt. und
neuer. liusalands, vol. ii. p. 107.
» Travels, p. .'574.

• -A

...J..

■!'!i''.hf

■*

; I

LIFTING TllK UUIDE.

' her, amidHt the accluiiuitionH of the BjxjctatorH, to his
' tent.* The Western tribes regard it as nn important
part of the marriage ceremony tliat tlie bride sliould be
carried to lier lius])and's dwelling.' ^ In Mexico also
the husband took the bride on his back and carried
her a short distance.^ J5riice, in Abyssinia, observed an
identical custom. When the ceremony is over, he says,

* the bridegroom takes his lady on his shoulders, and
' carries her off to his house. If it be at a distance he
' does the same thing, but only goes entirely round about

* the bride's house.' ^

In China, when the bridid procession reaches the
bridegroom's house, the bride is carried into the house
by a matron, and ' lifted over a pan of charcoal at the
'door."*

We shall presently see that these are no isolated
cases, nor is the act of lifting the bride over the bride-
groom's threshold an act without a meaning. I shall
shortly mention many allied customs, to the importance
and significance of which our attention has recently
been called by M'Lennan, in his masterly work on
' Primitive Marriage.'

I will now attempt to trace up the custom of mar-
riage in its gradual development. There is strong
evidence that the lowest races of men live, or did live,
in a state of what may perhaps be called ' Communal
Marriage.' In many of the cases above given (pp. 70-
75) there can hardly be said to be any true marriage in
our sense of the term, and many other instances might

730.

• Bancroft, vol. i. p. 411, 703,

« Ihid. vol. ii. p. 261.

285.

3 Vol. vii. p. 67.

* Davis, The (Jhinese, vol. i. p.

nKLATIOSSIIII'S TSJiHPIJSlfKS'T OF MAURI AOE. s«j

live.

1)C given. In tlie Amlainan iHlnndH,' Sir Kdwanl
Hc'lcher stfttes that the custom is for the man and
woman to remain together until the cliild is weaned,
when they separate as a matter of course, and each
seeks a new partner. Tlie Bushmen of South Africa
are stated to be entirely without marriage. Among
the Nairs (India), as Huchanan tells us, 'no one knows
' his father, and every man looks on his sister's children
'as his heirs.' The Teehtirs of Oude 'live together
'almost indiscriminately in large comnuwiities, and even
' when two people are regarded as married the tie is but
' nominal.' '^

In China, conuuunal marriage is stated to have pre-
vailed down to the time of Fouhi," and in Greece to that
of Cecrops. The Massagetic,* and the Auses,** an Kthio-
])ian tribe, had, according to Herodotus, no marriage — a
statement which is confirmed by Strabo as regards the
former. Stral)o and Solinus make the same statement
as regards the Garamantes, another Ethiopian tribe.
In California, according to Baegert,® the sexes met
without any formalities, and their vocabulary did not
even contain the words ' to marry.* Garcilasso de la
\'ega asserts that among some of the Peruvian tribes,
l)efore the time of the Incas, men had no special
wivcs.^

Speaking of the natives of Queen Charlotte Island,

' Traus. Ethn. Soc. vol. v. p. 45.

» The People of India, by J. F.
Watson and J. W. Kaye, publislied
by the Indian Government, vol. ii.
pi. 86.

^ Goguet, L'Origine des Lois,
des Arts ot dos Sciences, vol. iii.

p. 328.

* Olio, vol. i. p. 21G.

* Mt'li)omene, vol. iv. 180.

* Loc. (it. p. 3G8.

' ('ommentariea of the Incas,
trans, by C. Ii Markham, vol. ii. p.
443.

" K

. -Si
1 .' ?

^ In

!;. ■■'*^;fcVf

•I

: 1

■

90 AUSTRALIAN SYSTEM OF RELATIONSHIP.

Mr. Poole says,^ 'among these simple and primitive
' tribes, the institution of marriage is altogether un-
' known.' The women appear to consider almost all
the men of their own tribe in the light of husbands.
They are, on the contrary, very circumspect in their
behaviour with other men.

According to native legends, communal marriage
existed in ancient times among the natives of Australia.
Messrs. Fison and Howitt state that the South Aus-
tralian tribes ''^ are divided into two classes or clans,
Kumite and Kroki, the feminine equivalents of which are
Kumitegor and Krokigor, and every Kumite is theore-
tically the husband of every Krokigor, every Kroki being
in the same way the husband of every Kumitegor. It
is not asserted that marital rights are actually exercised
to this extent at the present day, but they exist and are
still acknowledged to a certain extent. So again among
the Kamilaroi tribes, there are four great clans, of which
the brothers and sisters are respectively Ipai and Ipatha,
Kubi and KuHtha, Muri and Matha, Kumbu and Butha.
Ipai may only marry Kubitha ; Kubi, Ipatha ; Kumbu,
Matha ; and Muri, Butha. But Mr. Lance first pointed
out, and he has since been fully confirmed by subsequent
writers, that in a certain sense every Ipai is regarded as
married, not by any individual contract, but by organic
law, to every Kubitha ; every Kubi to every Ipatha, and
so on. If, for instance, a Kubi, says Mr. Lance, * meet
' a stranger Ipatha, they address each other as spouse.
' A Kubi thus meeting an Ipatha, though she were of
' another tribe, would treat her as his wife, and his right

' Queen Cliarlotte Islands, p. "^ See Fison and Ilowitt, The

312. Kamilaroi and Eiirnai, p. 60.

re of
right

SOUTH SEA SYSTEM OF RELATIONSHIP.

' to do so would be recognised by her tribe.' ^ It would
appear, however, that this right is now dying out, and
is in most cases merely nominal.

The backwardness (until lately) of the Sandwich
Islanders in their social relations, is manifested in their
language. This is shown from the following table
extracted from a longer one, given by Mr. Morgan in a
most interesting work on the Origin of the Classifica-
tion System of Relationship.^

Hawaian

Kupuna signifies

Makua kana = -

Makua waheena = -

English

' Great grandfather
Great great uncle
Great grandmother
Great grandaunt
Grandfather
Granduncle
Grandmother
Grandaunt.

' Father
Father's brother
Father's brother-in-law
Mother's brother
Mother's brother-in-law

(^ Grandfather's brother's son.

f Mother
Mother's sister
Mother's sister-in-law
Father's sister

i^ Father's sister-in-law.

' Quoted by Fison and Ilowitt, ^ Systems of Consanguinity and

luc. cit. p. 5;{. Affinity.

11^

',-

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11;^'

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I#:

Si " ify-w 1

"■k

■■

■

•

, .

111

ili

92 SOUTH 8EA 8Y8TEM OF RELATIONSHIP,

Havnian

Kaikee kana =

Hunona

Waheena

Kana

Panalua
Kaikoaka

Engluh

rSon
Sister's son
Brother's son
Brother's son's son
Brother's daughter's son
Sister's son's son
Sister's daughter's son
Mother's sister's son's son
Mother's brother's son's son.

Brother's son's wife
_ 1 Brother's daughter's husband
I Sister's son's wife
I Sister's daughter's husband.

r Wife

Wife's sister

Brother's wife

Wife's brother's wife

Father's brother's son's wife

Father's sister's son's wife

Mother's sister's son's wife
(^ Mother's brother's son's wife.

■ Husband
Husband's brother
Sister's husband.

Wife's sister's husband (brother-in-law).

Wife's brother.

The key of this Hawaian or Sandwich Island ' system
is the idea conveyed in the word waheena (woman).
Thus —

' Morgan, Proceedings of the American Association, 1868.

SOUTH SEA SYSTEM OF RELATIONSHIP.

Hawaian English

Waheena =

r Wife
Wife's sister
Brother's wife
Wife's brother's wife.

All these are equally related to each husband. Hence
the word —

Kaikee = Child, also signifies the brother's wife's child ;

and no doubt the wife's sister's child, and the wife's
brother's wife's child. So also, as the sister is wife to
the brother-in-law (though not to her brother), and as
the brother-in-law is husband to his brother's wife, he is
consequently a father to his brother's children. Hence
' Kaikee ' also means ' sister's son ' and ' brother's son.'
In fact ' Kaikee ' and ' Waheena ' correspond to our
words ' child ' and * woman,' and there are apparently
no words answering to ' son,' ' daughter,' ' wife,' or
' husband.' That this does not arise from poverty of
language is evident, because the same system discri-
minates between other relationships which we do not
distinguish.

Perhaps the contrast is most clearly shown in the
terms for brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Thus, when a woman is speaking —

Sister-in-law = husband's brother's wife = punalua.
Sister-in-law = husband's sister = kaikoaka.

But brother-in-law, whether sister's
husband or husband's brother

= kana, i.e. husband.

When, on the contrary, a man is speaking —

Sister-in-law = wife's sister = waheena, i.e. wife.
Sister-in-law = brother's wife = waheena, i.e. wife.

■'if >'i

[j 1

1 V

•■. ;.

1 1

i-f

SOUTH SEA SYSTEM OF ItELATlONSIIIP.

And so —

Brother-in-law = wife's brother = kaikoaka.

Brother-in-law = wife's sister's husband = punalua.

Thus a woman has husbands and sisters-in-law, but
no brothers-in-law ; a man, on the contrary, has wives
and brothers-in-law, but no sisters-in-law. The same
idea runs through all other relationships : cousins, for
instance, are called brothers and sisters.

So again, while the Romans distinguished between
the

Father's brother = patruus, and the mother's brother =

avunculus ;
Father's sister = amita, and the mother's sister =

matertera ;

the first two in Hawaian are makua kana, which also
signifies father ; and the last two are makua waheena,
which also means mother.

In the next chapter I shall enter more at length
into the subject of Relationships, but the above will
suffice to show that the idea of Marriage does not, in
fact, enter into the Hawaian system. Uncleship, aunt-
ship, cousinship, are ignored; and we have only —

Grandparents

Parents

Brothers and sisters

Children, and

Grandchildren.

Here it is clear that the child is related to the group.
It is not specially related either to its father or its
mother, who stand in the same relation as mere uncles

TOD A SYSTEM OF RELATIONSHIP.

and aimts ; so that every child has several fathers and
several mothers.

There are, I think, reasons in the social habits of
these islanders which go far to explain the persistence
of this archaic nomenclature. From the mildness of
the climate and the abundance of food, children soon
become independent ; the prevalence of large houses,
used as mere dormitories, and the curious prejudice
against eating in common, must also have greatly
tended to retard the development of special family
feelings. Yet the system of nomenclature above men-
tioned did not correspond with the actual state of society
as found by Captain Cook and other early voyagers.

Among the Todas of the Neilgherry Hills, however,
when a man marries a girl she becomes the wife of all
his brothers as they successively reach manhood, and
they also become the husbands of all her sisters as they
become old enough to marry. In this case 'the first-
'born child is fathered upon the eldest brother, the
' next-born on the second, and so on throughout the
'series. Notwithstanding this unnatural system, the
' Todas, it must be confessed, exhibit much fondness
' and attachment towards their offspring, more so than
' their practice of mixed intercourse would seem to
' foster.' 1

In the Tottiyars of India, also, we have a case in
which it is actually recorded that 'brothers, uncles,
' and nephews hold their wives in common.' '^ So also,
according to Nicolaus,^ the Galactophagi had conimu-

• Shortt, Trans. Ethn. Soc,
N.S. vol. vii p. 240.

' Dubois' Description of the Peo-

ple of India, p. 3.

^ Bacliofen, Das Mutterrecht, p.
21.

a;-

I/-

it,

,S1 kJ>:<g,

T I 'I

i ■■•■j

'■•: .'k

iMi

■

^';-.",4'-'.

Vrnm

-',■1 'iivli

1 V

,JI

'ji

i^'

vr.

''**

•96

PREVALENCE OF ADOPTION.

ir!
1

nal marriage, ' wheye they called all old men fathers,

* young men sons, and those of equnl age brothers.'

* Among the Sioux and some other North American
' tribes the custom is to buy the eldest of the chief's
' daughters ; then the others all belong to him, and are

* taken to wife at such times as the husband sees fit.' ^

Such social conditions as these tend to explain the
frequency of adoption among the lower races of men,
and the fact that it is often considered to be as close a
connection as real parentage. Among the Esquimaux,
Captain Lyon tells us that 'this curious connection

* binds the parties as firmly together as the ties of

* blood ; and an adopted son, if senior to one by nature,
' is the heir to all the family riches.' '^

In Central Africa, Denham states that ' the practice
*of adopting children is very prevalent among the
' Felatahs, and, though they have sons and daughters of
' their own, the adopted child generally becomes heir
' to the whole property.' ^ In Madagascar * also ' the
' adoption of other children, generally those of relatives,
' is of frequent occurrence. These children are regarded
' in every respect as if they were born of their adopted
' parents, and their real father and mother give up all
' claim to them.'

' It is a custom,' says Mariner,*^ ' in the Tonga
' Islands, for women to be what they call mothers to
' children or grown-up young persons who are not their
' own, for the purpose of providing them, or seeing that

* they are provided, with all the conveniences of life ; '

» Ethii. Journal, 1860, p. 286.
" Journal, p. 353. See 365.
' Denham'a Travels in Africa,
vol. iv. p. 131.

* Sibree's Madagascar and its
Teople, p. 107.

* Mariner's Tonga lalands, vol.
ii. p. 08.

THE MILK.TIE.

onga

tliis is often done even if tlic natural mother be still
living, in Avliich case the adopted mother ' is regarded
'the same as the natural mother.' The same custom
also existed in Samoa, ^ the Marquesas, and other Pacific
Islands.^ Among the Komans, also, adoption was an
important feature, and was effected by the symbol of a
mock birth, without which it was not regarded as com-
}>lete. This custom seems to hjive continued down to
the time of Nerva, who, in adopting Trajan, transferred
the ceremony from the marriage-bed to the temi)le of
tlupiter.^ Diodorus^ gives a very curious account of
the same custom as it existed among the Greeks, men-
tioning that Juno adopted Hercules by going through
a ceremony of mock birth.

In other cases the symbol of adoption represented
not tlie birth, but the milk-tie. Thus, in Circassia,
tlie woman offered her breast to the person she was
adopting. In Abyssinia, Parkyn tells us that 'if a man
' wishes to be adopted as the son of one of su})erior
' station or influence, he takes his hand, and, sucking
'one of his fingers, declares himself to be his "child by
' " ado])tion," and his new father is bound to assist him
'as far as he can.' ^

Among some races marriage between foster children
is strictly forbidden.

The same idea of ado})tion underlies, })erhaps, the
curious Esquunaux habit of licking anything which is
l)resented to them, a})parently in token of ownership.*"

is, vol.

' Ninett'cn Yoar.s in Polynesia, 2o4.
p. 179. 4 IV. .'}0. Sec Notes.

'•* Gerland, "NVaitz' Anthropologie, * Paikyn's Abyssinia, p. l!)8.

vol. vi. p. 21G. •• Franklin's Jouim-ys, 1810-22,

* Miiller, Das Mutterrecht, p. vol. i. p. 34,

OLUQINAL OR COMMUNAL MAURI AGE.

Dietfeiilxicli ^ also mentions tliu practice of licking a
present in Xew Zealand ; here, however, it is tlie donor
who does so.

In the Ton^a Ishuids, Captain Cook tells us that •'lie
natives ' liave a singidar custom of })utting everything'
'you i^ive them to their heads, by way of thanks, as
' we conjectured.' '^ LabiUardiere observed the same
practice in Tasmania."'

Assnming, then, that the communal marriage system
shown in the preceding i)ages to prevail, or have [)re-
vailed, so widely among races in a low stage of civilisa-
tion, represents the primitive and earliest social con-
dition of man, we now come to consider the various
ways in which it may have been broken up and replaced
by individual marriage.

Montesquieu lays it down almost as an axiom, that
' Voljligation naturelle qu'a le pere de nourrir ses
' enfants a fait etablir le mariage, qui declare celui qui
' doit remplir cette obligation.' * Elsewhere he states
that ' il est arrive dans tons les pays et dans tous les
' temps que la religion s'est melee des mariages.' ^ How
far these assertions are from the truth will be conclu-
sively sliown in the follov/ing pages.

Bachofen,^ M'Lennan,'^ and Morgan, the most recent
authors who have studied this subject, all agree that
the primitive condition of man, socially, was one in
which marriage did not exist,^ or, as we may perhaps
for ccnivenience call it, of communal marriage, where

' Now Zoaland, vol. ii. p. 104.

^ Voyage towai'ds the South
Polo, vol. i. p. '22\.

^ Gerlaiid, AVaitz' Authropolo-
gie, vol. vi. p. 812.

' Esprit des Lois, vol. ii. p. 18G.

'' Loc. fit. p. 20!).

^ Das Mutteneclit.

' Primitive Marriage.

'* Ibid, xviii, xix.

OHIO IN OF MAli'IilJGE.

all the incu aiul women in a small community were
iv^anled as equally married to one another.

Jiacliofen considers that after a while the women,
shocked and scandalised by such a state of things,
revolted au;ainst it, and established a system of marriage;
with female supremacy, the husband being subject to
the wife, i)roperty and descent being consideriid to g(j
in the female line, and women enjoying the principal
share of i)olitical power. The first period he calls that
of ' Hetairism,' the second of ' Mutterrecht,' or ' mother-
• right.'

In the third stage he considers tliat the ethereal
influence of the father })revailed over the more material
idea of motherhood. Men claimed pre-eminence, pro-
perty and descent were traced in the male line, sun
Avorship superseded moon worslii}), and many other
changes in social organisation took place — mainly
because it came to be recognised that the creative
influence of the father was moi*e important than the
material tie of motherhood. The father, in fact, was
the author of life, the mother a mere nnrse.

Thus he regards the first stage as lawless, the second
as material, the third as spiritual. 1 believe, however,
that commnnities in which women have exercised the
supreme power are rare and exceptional, if indeed they
ever existed at all. We do not find in history, as a
matter of fact, that women do assert their rights, and
savage women would, T think, be ])eculiarly unlikely to
uphold their dignity in tlu! manner su})posed. (hi the
contrary, among the lowest races of men, as, for
instance, in Australia, the position of the women is one
of complete subjection ; and it seem<> to me perfectly

n 2

I '

■mi

1(X)

ni'JLATKLWSIIir AMOXa THE UOMANS.

clear tlint tlic i(l(!a of inarriii^(! is iouixlcd on tlio rij^lits,
Dot of the woman, l)nt of tlie man, hein*^ an illustra-
tion of

the good old plan,

That he should take who has the power,

And he shoidd keep who can.

Amonj^ low races the wife is indeed literallv the
property of lier husband. As l*etruchio says of
Catherine —

I will he master of what is min(! own.

She is my gotids, my chattels; she is my house,

My liousehold stuff, my field, my ham,

My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything.

So thorounhly is this the case, that a Roman's
* family ' originally, and indeed tlirouohout classical
tinle^', meant his slaves, and the children only formed
part of the family because they were his slaves ; so that
if a father freed his son, the latter ceased to be one of
the family, and had no part in the inheritance.

' 'rhe mere tie of blood relationship,' says Ortolan,

' was of no account among the IJomans The

' most oeiieral expression and the most comprehensive
' term indicatino* relationship in Komaii Law is rotjiiatio
' — the cognation, that is to say, the tie between persons
' who are united by the same blood, or those reputed
'by the law as such (c(>(/ti((fi ; qwisi una comnianiter
^nafi). But cognation alone, whether it proceeds from
'legal marriage or any orher union, does not place
'the individual within the family, nor does it give any
'right of family.'' h^ven at the present day, in some

* Ortolan's History of Roman Law, tr. by Prichard and Naduiitli, p. 129.

MltESTUNn FOR WIVES.

101

|)ju*ts of Africa, ti iiinn's propiTty *f()VH, not to liis chil-
dren, as such. l)iit to liis slaves.

Anionj;' the West African trilu's of the (Johl Coast,
under ordinary eireinnstaiujes the wite was the slaM- of
her iiushand, purchased of her father hy tlie dowry, Imt
if ' the w ife l)c a woman of free status, who contracts
' a free union with her husl)and, not only are her children
' not his slaves, hut neither she nor they become mem-
' hers of his i'amily.' ^

The fact that the wife is re<4'ardcd literally as the
property of the husband explains those cases wdiich seem
to us so remarkable, in which <i^reat laxity of conduct
before, is combined w'ith the utmost strictness after,
marriage. Hence, also, the custom, so prevalent among
the lower races of men, that on the death of the elder
brother the wives belong to the second.

This com})lcte subjection of the woman in marriage
also explains those cases in whicli women of rank were
considered too great to marry. Livingstone distinctly
stjjtes this in the case of jMamochisane, daughter of
Sebituane, chief of the liechuanas. Sebituane ' could
' not look ujMjn the husband except as the W(jmiui's
' lord, so he told her all the men were hers, she might
' take any one, but ought to keep none.' '^

Hearne tells us, that among the Hudson's Bay
Indians ' it has ever been the custom for the men to
' wrestle for any woman to whom they are attached ;
' and, of course, the strongest party ahvays carries off
' the prize. A weak man, unless he l^e a good hiuiter

' Foreign Office Despatch, Aujj. vol. i. ])p. 107, .'5<i(», vol. ii. p. 7'J.

21, 1874. Tiukey's Exp. to the IVwvr Zaire,

' Travels in South Afiica, p. ]). 140.
17!^ See also Burton's Dahomey,

Ii I

., i-/

'.i " ;■

r .

■?

102

}rU']XNAS"S VIEWS.

{

' iiiid wcll-bclovod, is sfiMom pcnnltfcd to keep a wife
' th.'it Ji stn»ii<;('r iiiiin tliiiiks worth liis notice. . . .
' Tliis cMistoni prevails tliroii^liodt iili llieir Irihes, jiiid
' causes a ;^reat spirit of einiilatioii aiiioii^ tlieii' youth,
' wlio are upon all occasions, from their ehildliood, trying"
' their strength and skill in wrestlinij;.' ' Tranklin also
says that tlie Copper Indians liold women in the same
low estimation as tlic (.'hipewyans do, 'looking- n])on
' tliem as a kind of property, which the stroni^'cr may
' take from the weaker ; ' -' and IJichardson ' ' more than
' once saw a stronoer man assert liis ri^ht to take the
' wife of a weaker countryman. Anyone may c]iallen_L!;c
' another to wrestle, and, if lie overcomes, may carry olf
' the wife as the prize.' Vet the women never dream
of [)rotestin!i,' ji^'ainst this, which, indeed, seems to them
perfectly natm*al. The theory, tlierefore, of Dr. JJacho-
fen, and the se([nence of social customs suggested by
him, althongh supported with much learning, cannot, I
think, be regarded as correct.'*

M'J^ennan, like l>achofen and i\rorgan, starts with a
stage of Iletairism or communal mju'riage. The next
stage was, in liis o[>inion, that form of polyandry in
which brothers had their wives m common ; afterwards
came tliat of the Icrirdtc, i.e. the system under which,
when an elder brother died, his second brother married
the widow, and so on with the others in succession.
Thence he considers that some tribes branched off into
endogamy, others into exogamy ; '' that is to say, some

' llcariit', p. 104. ■* See, for instance, Lcwin'.s Hill

-' .Tourney to llie Shores of the Tracts of Chittnjrong', pp. 47, 77, H),

Tnlar Seas, vol. viii. p. 43. (>.{, i>,S, 101.

■' Richardson's ]}oat Journey, * Zoc. rif. p. 14o.

V..1. ii. p. 24.

T7TE TliVE FXriAXATTOX.

lO.'J

lorlmdo mnrrinpfe out of, otliers witiiiu, the triho. If
cither of tlu-c two svstcin.s avms older tlisin tlu* otlicr,
he consithirs thut cxnj^iiinv must hasc hccu the luorc
aiicii'iit. Kxo^iuuy was huHcd on iufsinticidc,' nud U-d
to the praetice of njarria^x; l>y captun!.'''

In a further sta«i;c the i<h'a of iemah' lU^seeut, j>ro.
(hicino; as it would a division in the trihe, ohvialed the
necessity of ca])tiire as a reality and rc(hice«l it to a
syniboL

In 8U})port of this view Mr. M'Leiinan has certainly
l)rou«iht forward many striking, fiiets ; l»iit, while ad-
niittini!; that it prohahly rejtresents the succession of
events in some cases, I cainiot hut thiid< that these ar(>
exceptional. Kxo<;amy is in fact often associated with
polygamy, wliich under Mr. M'Lennan's system could
not well he.

Fully admitting the ])rcvalence of infanticid(; among
savages, it will, 1 think, ])e found that among the
lowest races hoys were killed as fre(piently as girls.
Eyre expressly states that this avp.s the case in
Australia.*'' In fact, the distinction i)etwcen the sexes
implies an amount of forethought and ])rudence a\ hieh
the lower races of men do not possess.

For reasons to he given shortly, I believe tliat com-
munal marriage was gradually su])erseded l)y individual
marriage founded on ca])ture, and tliat this led firstly
to exogamy and then to fem.'de infanticide ; thus re-
versmg ]\I'Lennan's order of sequence, l^ndogauiy and
regulated polyandry, though frefpient. 1 regard as ex-
ceptional, and as not entering into the normal progress
of development.

' Lor. (it, ]i. 13S. -' Loo, (if, ]>. 1 10. ' Discoveries, kc, vol. ii. p. .'{2-1.

'''■ , M*;1

<'fm

4,-i

104

THE TRUE EXPLANATION.

m\ !

^ 1 <■

With MTiOnnan, Bachofen, and Mor<Tan, I believe that
our present social relations have arisen from an initial
stance of Hetairism or communal marriage. It is obvious,
however, that even under a connnunal marriage, a war-
rior who had captured a beautiful girl in some maraud-
ing expedition would claim a peculiar right to her, and.
when possible, would set custom at defiance. We have
already seen tliat there are other cases of the existence
of irarriage under two forms side by side in one coun-
try ; and there is, therefore, no real difficulty in assuming
the co-existence of c!onnnunal and individual marriage.
It is true that under a communal marriage system no
man could ap})ropriate a girl entirely to himself without
infrinffino; the rights of the whole tribe. Such an act
would naturally be looked on with jealousy, and only
regarded asjustifiableinider peculiar circumstances. A
war-captive, however, was in a peculiar ])osition : the
tribe had no right to her ; her capturer might have
killed her if he chose ; if he preferred to keep her alive
he was at liberty to do so ; he did as he liked, and the
tribe was no sufferer. On the other hand, if a marriage
system had already existed, it is unlikely that the first
wives would have suffered a mere captive to obtain the
same station as themselves.^

M'Lennan,''^ indeed, says that 'it is impossible to
' believe that the mere lawlcssnci^s of savao:es should ho
' consecrated into a legal symbol, or to assign a reason
' — could this be believed — Avhy a siinilnr8yml)ol should
' not a[)pear in transferences of other kinds of property.'

' I am jrliul to (iud that Mv. TI.
Spencer, in his Principles of Socio-
liijiy, p. ()oO ot scq., endors(>s tliis
view, thougli he does not iilloiretlior

accept my sn^i'gestions as to oom-
niunal niavriaire, or as to llio ri^'lits
of nimi witliin tlie tril)e.
'' Luc. (it. p. 44.

irlits

OliiaiN OF MAURIAUE liY CAVTUllE.

105

The symbol of capture, however, was not one of hiw-
lessness, but, on the other liand, of — according to the
ideas of the times — hiwful possession. It did not refer
to those from whom the captive was taken, but was
intended to bar the rights oi tlie tribes into which she
was introduced. Individual marriage was, in fact, an
infringement of comminial riglits ; the man retaining to
himself, or the man and woman mutually api)ropriat-
ing to each other, that whicli should have belonged to
the whole tribe. Thus, among the Andamaners, any
woman who attempted to resist the marital privileges
claimed by any member of the tribe was liable to severe
})uuishment.*

Nor is it, I think, difftcult to understand why tlie
symbol of capture does not ai)pear in transferences of
other kinds of })roperty. Every generation requires
fresli wives ; the actual capture, or at any rate the
symbol, needed tlierefore repetition. This, however,
does not apply to land ; when once the idea of landed
property arose, the same land descended from owner to
owner. In other kinds of property, again, there is an
ini])ortant, though different kind of, distinction. A
nian made his own bow and arrows, liis own hut, his
own arms ; hence the necessity of capture did not exist,
and the synd)ol would not arise.

]\rLenuan supposed that savages were driven by
female infanticide, and the conse(pient al)sence or [)aU'
city of women, into exogamy, and marriage by <'a[)ture.

e considered that the

tice of capturinir women

for wives could not have become systematic unless it
were developed and sustained by some rule of law or

laiis.

Ktl

111. Sdo.

N.8. vol. ii.

>ji>.

-?4

■M

lOG

OniGIN OF MAJiniAGE BY GAPTURE.

: '• '■

'custom,' and 'that the rule of law or custom which
' had this effect was exo2;amy.' ^

I shall presently give my reasons for rejecting this
explanation. He also considers that marriage by capture
followed, and arose from, that remarkable custom of
marrying always out of the tribe, for which he has pro-
posed the appropriate name of exogamy. On the con-
trary, I believe that exogamy arose from marriage by
capture, not marriage by capture from exogamy ; that
capture, and capture alone, could originall}'- give a man
the right to monopolise a woman, to the exclusion of
his fellow-clansmen ; and that hence, even after all
necessity for actual capture had long ceased, the symbol
remained ; capture having, by long habit, come to be
received as a necessary preliminary to marriage.

That marriage by capture has not arisen from female
modesty is, I think, evident, not only because we have
no reason to suppose that such a feeling piovails spe-
cially among the lower races of man ; but also, firstly,
because it cannot explain the mock resistance of the
relatives ; and, secondly, because the very question to be
solved is why it became so generally the custom to win
the female not by persuasion but by force.

M'Lennan's view throws no light on the remark-
able ceremonies of expiation tor marriage, to which I
shall presently call attention. I will, however, first
proceed to show how widely ' capture,' either actual
or symbolical, enters into the idea of marriage.
M'Lennan was, T believe, the first to appreciate its im-
portance. 1 have taken some of the following instances

'fc

' I tako tliis from tho articlo in Ihe Fortniplitly for June 1877.

I'M ' ' .51

MAURTAGE BY CAPTURE ORIGINALLY A REALITY. 107

from his valuable work, with, however, much addi-
tional evidence.

It requires, no doul)t, strong evidence, wliicli, how-
ever, exists in abundance, to satisfy us that the origin
of marriage was independent of all sacred and social
considerations ; that it liad nothing to do with mutual
affection or sympatliy ; ti'iat it was invalidated by any
appearance of consent ; and that it Avas symbolised, not
by any demonstration of warm affection on the one side
and tender devotion on the other, but by brutal violence
and unwilliniz: submission.

Yet, as already mentioned, the evidence is over-
whelming. So completely, for instance, did the Caril)s
supply tliemsclvcs with wives fvom the neighboiu'ing
races, and so little communication did they liold with
them, that the men and women actually spoke different
languages. So, again, in Australia the men, says Old-
field, ' are in excess of the other sex, and, consequently,
' many men of every tribe are unprovided ^ith that
' cs]:)ecial necessary to their comfortable subsistence, a
' Avife ; wlio is a slave in the strictest sense of the word,
' being a beast of burden, a provider of food, and a
' ready object on which to vent those passions that the
' men do not dare to vent on each otlier. Hence, for
' those coveting such a luxury, arises the necessity of
' steal ino- tlie women of some otlier tribe ; and, in their
' expeditions to effect so laudable a design, they will
' cheerfully undergo privations and dangers equal to
' those they incur when in search of blood-revenge.
' Wlien, on such an errand, they discover an improtected
' female, their proceedings are not of the most gentle
'nature. Stunning her by a blow from the dowak (to

Jfi'-M

■ti-

i -'

* ,

i 111

108 MAUniAQE BY CAPTURE ORIGINALLY A JiEALlTY;

'make her love them, perhaps), they drag her by the
' hair to the nearest thicket to await her recovery.
' Wlien she comes to her senses thoy force her to
' accompany them ; and as at worst it is but the ex-
' change of one brutal lord for another, she generally
' enters into the spirit of the affair, and takes as much
' pains to escape as though it were a matter of her own
' free choice.' ^

Collins thus describes the manner in wluch the na-
tives about Sy<1ney used to procure wives : — ' The poor
wretch is stolen ' pon in the absence of her protectors.
]5eing first stupefied with blows, inflicted with clubs
or wooden swords, on the head, back, and shoulders,
every one of which is followed by a stream of blood,
she is then dragged through the woods by one arm,
with a perseverance and violence that it might be sup-
posed would displace it from its socket. This outrage
is not resented by the relations of the female, who
only retaliate by a similar outrage when they find an
opportunity. This is so constantly the practice among
them that even the children make it a play-game, or
exercise.''

Marriage by capture is the third form of marriage
sjiecially recognised by ancient Hindoo law.^

In Bali also,* one of the islands between Java and
New Guinea, it is stated to be tlit; practice that girls
' are stolen away by their brutal lovers, who sometimes
' surprise them alone, or overpower them by the way,
' and cjirry them off with dishevelled hair and tattered

250.

' Trans. Ethn Soc, vol. iii. p.
).
"^ Oollins's Eii<rlish Colony in

New South Wale.s p. 302.

^ Biihler's Sacred Books of the
Aryas, p. 127.

■* Notices of the Indian Arcni-
pi'lajro, p. 00.

SUBSEQUENTLY A FORM.

100

■ the

' garments to the woods. When brou«^ht back from
' thence, and reconciliation is effected with enraoed
' friends, the poor female becomes the sUive of her rough
' lover, by a certain compensation-price behig paid to
' her relatives.'

So deeply rooted is tlie feeling of a connection
between force and marriage, that we find the former
used as a form long after all necessity for it liad ceased ;
and it is very interesting to trace, as Mr. M'Lennan
has done, the gradual, stages through which a stern
reality softens down into a mere symbol.

It is easy to see tliat if we assume the case of a
country in which there are four neighbouriug tribes,
who have the custom of exogamy, and who trace pedi-
grees through the mother, and not through the father
— a custom which, as we shall presently find, is so
common that it may be said to be the usual one among
the lower races — after a certain time the result would
be that each tribe would consist of four septs or clans,
representing the four original tribes, and lience we
should find communities in which each tribe is divided
into clans, and a man must always marry a woman of
a different clan. But as communities became larger
and more civilised, the actual ' capture ' would become
inconvenient, and at last impossible.

Gradually therefore it came to be more and more a
mock ceremony, forming, however, a necessary part of
the marriage ceremony. Of this many cases might be

given.

Speaking of the Klionds of Orissa, ^laj or- General
Campbell says that on one occasion he ' heard loud cries
' proceeding from a village close at hand. Fearing some

H :^

1^1

If:

!■■ -i^

^^1

■'•■'•!■'■■ 'I

1. .

iij
'(I

.I'i

110

IIINDOSTAN—CENTIUL INDIA .

' quarrel, I rode to the spot, and then; I sa\v a man
' bearing away uj)on his l)ack soinethini*' enveloped in
' an ample coverini!; of scarlet cloth ; he was snrronnded
' ])y twenty or thirty young fellows, and by them pro-
' tected from the desperate attacks made rpon him by
'a party of young women. On seekmg an explanation
'of this novel scene, I was told that the man had just
' l)cen married, and his precious burden was his bloom-
' ing bride, whom he was conveying to his own village.
' Her youthful friends (as it appears is the custom)
' were seeking to regain possession of lier, and hurled
' stones and bamboos at the head of the devoted bride-
' groom, until he reached the confines of his oAvn vil-

' lage.' 1

Dalton mentions that among the Kols of Central
India, when the price of a girl has been arr.nnged,
' tlie bridegroom and a large party of his friends
' of both sexes enter Avith much singing and dancing,
' and ,'</uini jh/hthi(/ in the village of the bride, where
' tliey meet the bride's party, and are hospitably enter-
' tained.' ^

Sir AV^. l^lliot also mentions that not only amongst
the Khonds, but also in ' several other tribes of Central
' India, the bridegroom seizes his bride ])y force, either
' affected or real ; ' ^ and the same was customary
among the Uadagas of the Neilgherry Hills, the Mun-
dahs, Hos, Garos, Oraons, Glionds, and other Hill tribes.^

' Quoted in IM'IjOiinnir.s Piiini-
tivo Marriage, p. 28.

•^ Trans. ]<:tlin. Soc. vol. vi. p. 2t.
See also p. L'7 ; the TriLos uf India,
vol. i. p. lo ; and Dalton's Dis,

Ethnology of Bengal, jip. 64, 80, 80.

10:1, 252, 2rs, .'{10.

■"' Trans. Jltbn. S..c. ISO!), ]). 125.

' Motz, Tlie Tribes of the Neil-
glierries, p. 74. See also Lewin's
Hill Tracts of CLittagoug, pp. 30,

MALA Y PENINS ULA—KALM UCKS.

Ill

I' I

Among' the Garos a young man and woman who
wish to many, take some provisions and retire to tlie
Hills for a few days. Tlie girl goes firct, and the lover
follows after, Avell knowing of course where she will be
found. In a few days they return to the village, when
the marriage is publicly announced and solenmised, a
mock tight taking place, though in this case the pre-
tended reluctanci! is on the part of the bridegroom.^
In this tribe the girls propose to the men, as is aiso said
to be the case among the Bhiuyas.'^

M. Bonrien ^ thus describes the marriage ceremony
among the wild tribes of the ]\Ialay Peninsida : — ' When
' all are assembled, and all retidy, the bride and bride-
' groom are led by one of the old men of the tribe
' towards a circle more or less great, according to the
' presumed strength of the intended pair ; the girl
' runs round iirst, and the young man pursues a short
' distance behind ; if he succeed in reaching her and
' retaining her, she becomes his wifj ; if not, he loses
'all claim to her. At other times, a larger held is
' appointed for the trial, and they ])ursue one another
' in the forest. The race, according to the words of the
' chronicle, " is not to the swift nor the battle to the
' " strong," but to the young man who has had the good
' fortune to please the intended Ijvide.'

Among the Kalmucks, I)e Hell tells us that, after
the price of the girl has been duly agreed on, when the
bridegroom comes with his friends to carry off his
bride, ' a sham resistance h always made ])y the people
' of her camp, in spite of which she fails not to be borne

^ Daltoii's Des. Ellin, of Bc'Ugal,
p. G4.

• Luc, lit. p. 142.

^ Tmuj). Elhu. Soc. l6(io, p. «1.

.,1

^- f-:

'A- K

!i,K

!'■

■m-i\

'-.;"H.ifi

■>un

I 1

is'

■A

■■.

112

TUNaUSES—KAMCllA DA LES.

away on a richly caparisoned liorsc, with loud 8hoiits
and feu de joie.' '

Dr. Clarke'* gives a charrnini^ly romantic account of
the ceremony. ' The girl,' he says, ' is first mounted,
who rides off at fidl speed. Her lover pursues ; if he
overtakes her, she becomes his wife, and the marriage
is consumnuited on the spot ; after this she returns
with him to his tent. l^>ut it sometimes hni)pens that
tlie woman does not wish to marry the person by
whom she is pursued ; in this case, she will not suffer
him to overtake her. We Avere assured that no in-
stance occurs of a Kahnuck girl bein<»; thus cauij^ht,
unless she have a i)artiality to the pursuer. If she
dislikes him, she rides, to use the language of English
sportsmen, " neck or nought," until she has completely
effected her escape, or until her pursuer's horse be-
comes exhausted, leaving her at liberty to return,
and to be afterAvards chased by some more favoured
admirer.'

' Among the Tunguses and Kamchadales,' says

Ernan,*' ' a matrimonial engagement is not definitively

arranged and concluded until the suitor has got the

better of his beloved by force, and has torn her

clothes.' Attacks on women are not allowed to be

ivenged by blood unless they take place within the

yourt or house. The man is not regarded us to blame,

if the woman ' has ventured to leave her natural place,

' the sacred and protecting hearth.' Pallas observes

' StoppoP of the Caspian, p. L'59, Asia, p. .'523. Riirncs' Travels in

Quoted in M'Lennan's PrimitiAe Bokhara, pp. 11, fi6.
Mavriago, p. 30. •' Travels in Siberia, vol. ii. p.

^ Travels, vol. i. p. 332. See 442. See also Kames' History of

also VambtU'y's Travels in Central Man, vol. ii. p. 58.

MOXGOLS^KOBEANS—ESQ UIMA UX.

113

that in his time ' inarrianc by caj)ture prevailed also
' among tlie Samoyedes.' * At present the custom is for
the bridegroom to tap the lather and the mother of
the bride on the shoulder with a small stick, — the last
trace of an ancient reality.^

Among the Mongols,^ when a marriage is arranged,
the girl ' Hies to some relations to hide herself. The
' bridegroom coming to demand his wife, the father-in-
*law says, " My daughter is yours ; go, take her wher-
' " ever you can find her." Having thus obtained his
' warrant, he, with his friends, runs about searching,
' and, having found her, seizes her as his property, and
' carries her home as it were l)y force.' Marriage by
capture, indeed, prevails throughout Siberia. In Kam-
skatka, says Miiller, ' attraper une iille est leur ex-
' pression i)our dire marier.' ^

' In the Korea, when a man marries, he mounts on
'horseback, attended by his friends, and, having ridden
' about the town, stops at the bride's door, where he is
' received by her relations, who then oarry her to his
' house, and the ceremony is complete.' ^ Traces of the
custom also occur in Japan.®

Among the Esquimaux of Cape York (Smith Sound),
according to Dr. Hay es,*^ ' there is no marriage cere-
' mony further than tnat the boy is reciuired to carry
' off his bride by main force ; for, even among these

' Vol. iv. p. 97. See also Ast- rEnipire de Russia, pt. ii. p. 80.

ley's Collections of Voyages, vol. iv. See also pt. i. p. 170; pt. iii. pp.

p.'576. 38,71.

'^ Seebobm, Siberia in Europe, ^ Ibid. p. .342.

p. 74. '' Le Japon Illustre, vol. ii. p.

3 Astley, vol. iv. p. 77. 1.".0.

'' Dca. de toutes les Nations de ' Open Polar Sea, p. 432.

, ,nt

'■,

'■

ic : i

■HI " '

i 1 ii;

:: '■

■

< '■ .

'■

\ '

■t *

. ! :

1 JL.j

114

NORTU AMERICA.

' Ijlubbcr-eating people, tlie woman only saves her
' modesty by a sham resistance, althouf^h she knows
' years beforehand tliat her destiny is sealed, and that
'she is to l)eeome the wife of the man from whose
'cml)races, when tlie iuii)tial day comes, she is obliged
'by tlie inexoraljle law of pu])lic opinion to U'vii herself
' if possibh', by kicking antl screaming with might and
' main, until she is safely landed in the hut of her future
' lord, when she gives up the combat very cheerfully

* and takes possession of her new abode.'

In Greenland, according to Egede, ' when a young
' man likes a maiden, he commonly proi)Oses it to their
' parents and relations on both sides ; and after he has
' obtained their consent, he gets two or more old women
' to letch the bride (and if he is a stout fellow he will
'fetch her hhuself). They go to the place where the
' young woman is, and carry her away by force.' ^

We have already seen (p. 101) that marriage by
capture exists in fidl force among the Northern Ked-
skins.

Further south in California, ' when an Oleepa lover

• wishes to marry, he first obtains permission from the
' parents. The damsel then flies and conceals herself ;
' the lover searches for her, and should he succeed in
' finding her twice out of three times, she belongs to him.
' Should he be unsuccessful, he waits a fcAV weeks and
' then repeats the })erformance. If she again elude his
' search, the matter is decided against him.' ^

Among the Mosquito Indians also, after the wed-

' Hislory of Greenland, p. 143.
Crautz, Hist, of Greenland, vol. i. p.

158.

* Bancroft, Native Races of tbe
Pacific States, p. 389.

so UTH A M K inCA — FK FJEEA NS.

115

the

(lin<T is all arranfjed and the ]uvsents paid, t.io In'ido is
arrayed in her host, and tlio l)ri(l('nr()nin on a nivcii
si<;iial ruslies in, seizes his hride, and carries her off,
Ibilowed l)y her female relatives, v. ho ^>retend to try to
rescue her.'

The ahori<i'ines of the Amazon \'alley, says Wallace,^
' have no partieidar ceremony at their marriaufes, except
' tliat of always carryinfif away the _L!;irl hy force, or
' makin«^ a show of doinir so, even when she and her
' j)Mrents are ({uite willin<^.' M. IJardel, in the notes to
D'Urville's Voyage, mentions that among the Indians
round Conce|)tion, in South America, after a man has
agreed on the i)ri('e of a girl with her parents, he sur-
prises her, and carries her oif' to the woods for a few
days, after which the happy couple return home.*'^

In Ticrra del Fuego, as Admiral Fitzroy tells us,"*
as soon ' as a youth is able to maintjiin a wife l)y his
'exertions in fishing or bird-catching, he obtains the
'consent of her relations, and .... having built or
' stolen a canoe for himself, he watches for an oppor-
' tunity, and carries off his bride. If she is unwilling
'she hides herself in the woods until her admirer is
' heartily tired of looking for her, and gives np the
'pursuit ; but this seldom ha]>pe?-s.'

Williams mentions that among the Feejeeans the
custom prevails ' of seizing upon a woman by a[)parent
' or actual force, m order to make her a wife. On
' reaching the home of her abductor, should she not
' approve of the match, she runs to some one who can

' Loc. cit. p. 733.

^ Travels in the Amazons, p. 497.

» Vol. iii. pp. 277 and 22.

* Voyago of the ' Adveuturo' iiiul
Bea^rle,' vol. ii. p. 182.

;■ '^1

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I>(fLY.\l']SIAXS.

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* protect her ; if, however, slie is satisfied, the matter is
' settled forthwith ; a feast is <^iven to iier friends tlie
' next niorninn;', and llie cniiplc are thenceforward con-
' sidered as man and wife.' '

Karle'^ *»'ives the followinj'* account ol' iiiiirn{i'''e in
New Zealand, wliich he re^jjards as * most exti'aonUnary,'
while in reality it is, as we now see, nothing- of the
sort : — ' The New Zealand method -^f courtship and
' matrimcmy is,' he says, ' most extraordinary ; so much
' so that an ohserver could never imaj^ine any affecilcn
' existed between the parties. A num sees a woman
' whom he fancies he should like for a wife ; he asks the
' consent of her fjither, or, if an orphan, of her nearest
' relation ; which, if he obtains, he carries his " intended "

* off by force, she resisting with all her strength ; and,
' as the New Zealand girls are generally pretty robust,
' sometimes a dreadful struggle takes place ; both are
' soon stripped to the skin ; and it is sometimes the
' work of hours to remove the fair prize a hundred
' yards. If she breaks away she instantly flies from her
' antagonist, and he has his labour to commence again.'

Even after a marriage, it is customary in New Zea-
land to have a mock scuffle. Mr. Yate ^ gives a good
illustration. There was, he says, ' a little opposition to
' the wedding, but not till it was over, as is jilways the

* custom here. The bride's mother came to me the
' preceding afternoon, and said she was well pleased in
' her heart that her daughter was going to be married
' to Pahau ; but that she must be angry about it with

* her mouth in the presence of her tribe, lest the natives

174.

* Fiji aud tlie Fijiaus, vol. i. p.

- liesideiice in Now Zealaiul, p.
•JU. 3 Yato's New Zealand, p. 00.

rniLlVVlNE ISLANDEllS—XJjaiilTOS—AFIilCA. 117

* hIiouM coino and take away all licr possossions, an<l
' destroy her cn-ps. Tliin is (Mistoinary on all occasions.'

Anion;^ till' Aliitas of tlu* Pliilippiiic Islnnds, when
a man wislics to marry a «(irl, her parents send her
before sunrise into the woods. She has an honr's start,
after which the lover p^oes to seek her. If he finds her
and brinj^s her hack before snnset, the marriajre is
acknowled;ije<l ; if not, he nnist al)and()n all claim to
her.^ The natives of New Gninea also luive a very
similar cnstom.'"^

Among' the Kaffirs marriage is an affair of purchase,
notwithstanding which 'the bridegroom is reipiired to
'carry off his bride by force, after the preliminaries are
'completed. This is attempted by the help of all the
' friends and relatives that the njan can muster, and
' resisted by the friends and relatives of the woman ;
' and the contest now and then terminates in the dis-
' comfiture of the unlucky husband, who is reduced to
' tiie necessity of waylaying his wife, when she may
' be alone in the fields or fetching water from the well.' '*

In the West African kingdom of Futa,^ after all
other preliminaries are arranged, 'one difficulty yet
' remains, viz. how tlie young man shall get his wife
' home ; for the women-cousins and relations take on
' mightily, and guard the door of the house to prevent
' her being carried away. At last, by the bridegroom's
' presents and generosity, their grief is assuaged. He

p. .
h

' Earl's Native Races of the to the North-east of tlie Cape of

Indian Archipelago, p. l.'iS. Good Hope, p. '24i) ; and Maclean's

'^ Gerland's Waitz' Anthropoh)- Ktiflir Law-s and Customs, p. 62.
gic, vol. i. p. 033. ' Astley's Collection of Voyages,

3 Pritchard's Nat. Hist, of Man, vol. ii. p. tiiO.
ii. 403. See also Arbous.«el's Tour

118

AFBIOA.

r "

'■ 1

■1 • ■■

51 r
3

* then provides a friend, well mounted, to carry her off ;
' but as soon as she is on horseback the women renew
' their lamentations, and ru^.h in to dismount her.
' However, the man is generally successful, and rides
' off with his prize to the house prepared for her.'

Gray mentions^ that a Mandingo (West Africa)
wishing to marry a young girl at Kayaye, applied to
her mother, who ' consented to his obtaining her in any
way he could. Accordingly, when the poor girl was
employed in preparing some rice for supper, she was
seized by her intended husband, assisted by three or
four of his companions, and carried off by force. Slie
made much resistance, by biting, scratching, kick-
iug, and roaring most bitterly. Many, both men and
women, some of them her own relations, who wit-
nessed the affair, only laughed at the farce, and con-
soled her by saying that she would soon be reconciled
to her situation.' Evidently tlierefore this was not,
as Gra^ seems to have supposed, a mere act of lawless
violence., but a recognised custom, which called for no
interference on the part of spectators. Denliam,^ de-
scrii)ing a marriage at Sockna (North Africa), says that
the bride is t.'iken on a camel to the bridegroom's house,
' upon Avliich it is necessary' for her to appear greatly
' surprised, and refuse to dismount ; the women scream,

* the men shout, and she is at length persuaded to
' enter.'

Among the Arabs of Sinai, when a marriage has
been arranged, tlie girl is waylaid by her lover ' and
' a couple of his friends, and carried off by force to his
' father's tent. If she entertains any suspicion of their

Gray's Travols in Western Africa, p. 50.

Loc. cit, vol. i. p. 30.

C mo A SSIA—E UROPE—IiOME.

110

* designs, she defends herself with stones, and often

* inflicts wounds on the young men, even though she

* does not dislike the lover.' ^

In Circassia weddings are accompanied by a feast,

* in the midst of which the bridegroom has to rush in,
' and, with the help of a few daring young men, carry
' off the lady by force ; and by this process she becomes
' the lawful wife.' ^ According to S])C'ncer, another im-
portant part of the ceremony consists in the bridegroom
drawing his dagger and cutting open the bride's corset.

As regards l^hirope, Phitarch ^ tells us that in Sparta
the bridegroom usually carried off his bride by force,
evidently, however, of a friendly character. I would
venture to suggest tliat the character of Helen, as
portrayed in the ' Iliad,' can only he understood by
regarding her marriage with Paris as a case of marriage
by captui'c.* ' Les premiers Romains,' says Ortolan,^ ' ont
' ete oblige de recourir a la surprise ct a la force pour en-
' lever leurs premieres femmes,' and he points out that long
after any actual violence had ceased, it was customary to
pass a lance over the head of the bride, ' en signe de la
' puissance que va acquerir le mari.' Hence also, while
a man might be married in his absence, this was not
the case as regards tlie woman. A man might capture
a bride for his friend, but the woman could not be
captured unless really present.^ In North Fricsland,
' a young fellow called tlie bride-lifter lifts the bride
' and her two bridesmaids upon the waggon in which

* Burckhardt's Note.s on the Be-
douins and NN'aliabys, vol. i. p. '2Qli.
See also pp. 108, 234.

* Moser, The Caucasus and its
People, p. 31 ; quoted by ]M'Lennan,
loc. cif, 11. 30.

' See also Ilcrodotu.s, vi. 05.
•* 8oe ApiK'ndix.

° Expl. Ilisit. des Inst, de I'Knip.
•lustinion, pp. 81, 82.
' Luc. ('if. p. 127,

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120

POL A XD—Jl US SI A —nUJTAIN.

* the married couple are to travel to tlieir home.* '
MTiennan states that in some parts of France, down to
the seventeenth century, it was customary for the hride
to feign reluctance to enter the bridegroom's house.

In Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and parts of Prussia,
according to Seignior Ga^^-a,^ yoi^^^ J^fi^n used to carry
off their sweethearts ])y force, and then apply to the
parents for their consent.

Lord Kames,i^ in his ' Sketches of the History of
' Man,' mentions that the following marringe ceremony
^vas, in his day, or at least had till shortly before, been
customary among the Welsh : — ' On the morning of
the wedding-day the bridegrDom, accompanied by his
friends on horseback, demands the bride. Her friends,
who are likewise on horseback, givo a ]wsitive refusal,
on which a mock scuffle ensues. Th( bride, mounted
behind her nearest kinsman, is carried off, and is pur-
sued by die bridegroom and his friends, with loud
shouts. It is not uncommon on such an occasion to
see 200 or 300 sturdy Cambro- Britons riding at full
speed, crossing and jostling, to the no small auuise-
ment of the spectators. When they have fatigued
themselves and their horses, the bridegroom is suffered
to overtake his bride. He leads her away in triumph,
and the scene is concluded with feasting and festivity.'
In European Turkey Mr. Tozer tells us that 'the
Mirdites never intermarry ; but ^hcn any of tliem,
from the highest to the lowest, wants a wife, he carries
off a ^Mahometan woman from one of the neiuLbourinn-

' M'Leuiian, loc. cit. p. 33.
-' Mairiago Ceienionics, p. 35.
See also Olaus Magnus, vol. xiv.

chapter ix.

•■^ nisto)'v of Man, vol. ii. p.
GO.

' ;.

had

' o

lURLANn-liENGAL-VmUPPINES.

121

' tribes, baptizes her, and marries her. The parents, we
' were told, do not usually feel miioh aggrieved, as it
' is well understood that a sum of money will be paid
'in return.' '

Sir II. Piers says that in Ireland, after a marriage
had been arranged, ' on the day of bringing home, the
' brideffroom and his friends ride out and meet the bride

' and her friends at the place of meeting. Being come
'near each other, the custom was of old to cast short
'darts at the company that attended the bride, but at
'suc'li distance that seldom any hurt ensued. Yet it is
'not out of the memory of man that the Lord of Iloath
' on such an occasion lost an eye.' -

To these instances many others might have been
a-lded, as for instance the natives of Sumatra, the
]\Iaj)uclics, Bushmen, &c.

In all these cases the girl is carried off by the man ;
but amonu* the Garos of Ijcngal we find a similar custom,
only that it is the bridcgroojn who is carried off. He pre-
tends to be unwilling and runs away, but is caught by the
fi'icnds of the bride, and vhen taken by force, ' in s[)ite
' of the resistance and counterfeited m*ief and lamenta-
' tion of his parents, to the bride's liouse.' '' So also
among the Aliitas of the Philippine Islands, if her parents
will not consent to a love match, the girl seizes the
young man by the hair of his head, carries him off, and
declares she has run away Avitli him. In such a case it
appears that marriage is held to be valid, Avhether the
parents consent or not.^

' The lliglilauds of Turkey, vol.
i. p. .'518.

^ Dt'sor. of Westraeath. Quotod
Ijy M'Lennan.

^ Bonwick, The Tasmanian.'H, p.
71.

■• Dalton, Descr. Ethn. of Bengal,

.^ -I

ii ^ ' '

p. G4.

■<^:l

if- ■

122 WIDE RANGE OF MARBIAQE BY CAPTURE.

Thus, then, we see that marriage by capture, either
as a stem reality or as an important ceremony, pre-
vails in Australia, among the Malays, in Hindostan,
Central Asia, Siberia, and Kamskatka ; among the
lilsquimaux, the Northern Redskins, the Aborigines of
Brazil, in Chili, and Tierra del Fuego, in the Pacific
Islands, both among the Polynesians and the Feejee-
ans, in the Philippines, among the Kaffirs, Arabs, and
Negroes, in Circassia, and, until recently, throughout a
grejit part of Europe.

I have already referred to the custom of lifting the
bride over tlie doorstep, which we find in such distinct
and distant races as the Romans, the Redskins of Canada,
the Chinese, and the Abyssinians. Hence, also, perhaps,
our honeymoon, during which the bridegroom keeps
his bride away from her relatives and fi'iends ; hence
even, perhaps, as Mr. M'Lennan supposes, the slipper
is, in mock anger, thrown after the departing bride and
bridegroom.

The curious custom which forbids the father-in-law
and the mother-in-law to speak to their son-in-law,
and vice versa, which I have already shown (p. 12)
to be very widely distributed, but for which no
satisfactory explanation has yet been given, seems
to be a natural consequence of marriage by capture.
When the capture was a reality, the indignation of
the parents would also be real ; when it became a mere
symbol, the parental anger would be symbolised also,
and would be continued even after its origin was
forgotten. ^

' I am glad to see tliat Mr. Ilowitt's Kamilaroi and Kurnai, p.
Morgan is disposed to adopt this 16.
suggestion. In trod, to Fison and

MARRIAGE BY GONFARREATIO.

123

The separation of husband and wife, to which also I
have referred (p. 75), may also arise from the same
custom. It is very remarkable, indeed, how y^ersistent
are all customs and ceremonies connected with marriage.
Thus our ' bride cake,' which so invariably accompanies
a wedding, and which miM ahcaijs he cut hy the bride,
may be traced back to the old Roman form of marriage
by ' confarreatio,' or eating together. So also among
the Iroquois, bride and bridegroom used to partake to-
gether of a cake of ' sagamite,' ^ which the bride offered
to her husband. The Feejce Islanders ^ have a very
similar custom. The marriage ceremony in Samoa,
says Turner, ' reminds us of the Roman confarreatio.' ^
* Confarreatio ' also exists among the Karens and Bur-
mese. * Again, among the Tipperaas, one of the Hill
tribes of Chittagong, the bride prepares some drink,
' sits on her lover's knee, drinks half, and gives him the
' other half ; they afterwards crook together their little
' {in<2:ers.' ° In one form or another a similar custom is
found among most of the Hill tribes of India. A very
similar custom occurs in Xew Guinea ; * among the
Samoyedes, and in Madagascar also, part of the mar-
riage ceremony consists in the bride and bridegroom
eating out of one dish. ^

Among the Chuckmas (a tribe residing among the
Chittagong hills) the bride and bridegroom are bound
towther with a muslin scarf, and then eat touether.^

' Lafitau, vol. i. pp. 5G0, 571.
^ Fiji and tlit3 Fijians, vol. i. p.
170.

* Nineteen Years iu Polynesia,
p. 180.

* MOIahou, The Karens of the
G. Chersonese, pp. 322, 350.

" Lewin's Hill Tracts of Chit-

tagong, pp. 71, 80. Daltou'a Doscr.
Ethu. of Bengal, p. V.K).

® Gerland's Con. of Waitz' An-
throp., vol. vi. p. 03.3.

' Sibree's Madagascar and ita
People, p. 193.

« Lewin, Wild Tribes of South-
eastern India, p 177.

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MAUli'TAGE JiY CAPTURE.

Here also I must mention the curious custom of
boy-mtirriai^es, under wliicli a i«irl is legally married to a
mere boy, who is vegnrded ns the father of her children,
while she herself lives with some one else, generally the
father of her nominal husband. This arrangement is
found among some of the Caucasian tribes, in parts of
llusjsia, among the Reddies in South India, and the
Chibchas of New Granada. It has not, I think, been
satisfactorily explained.

i\Ir. MTiCnnan conceives that marriage by capture
arose from the custom of exogamy, that is to say, from
the custom Avhich forbade marriage within the tribe.
Exogamy, again, he considers to have arisen from the
l)ractice of female infanticide. I have already indicated
the reasons which prevent me from accepting this ex-
l)lanation, and which induce m.e to regard exogamy
as arising from marriage by capture, not marriage by
capture from exogamy. Mr. M'Lennan's theory seems
to me quite inconsistent with the existence of tribes
which have marriage by capture and yet are endoga-
mous. The i'edouins, for instance, have marriage by
capture, and yet the man has a recognised right to
marry his cousin, if only he be willing to give the price
demanded for her.^

Mr. M'Lennan, indeed, feels the difficulty which
would be presented by such cases, the existence of
which he seems, however, to doubt ; adding, that if
the symbol of capture be ever found in the marriage
ceremonies of an endogamous tribe, we may be sure
that it is a relic of an early time at which the tribe was

' Ivlenmi, Allgeiu, ('iilttir<r. d. >' jiisch, vol. iv. p. 110.

EXPIATION FOR MAUKIAGE.

125

organised on another principle than tliat of exogamy.^
Another objection to his theory is the presence of
marriage by capture with polygamy.

That marriage by capture has not arisen merely
from female coyness is, I think, evident, as already
mentioned, firstly, because it does not account for the
resistance of the relatives ; secondly, because it is con-
trary to all experience that feminine delicacy diminislies
with civilisation ; and thirdly, because the very question
to be solved is why it has become so generally the cus-
tom to win tlie wife by force rather than by persuasion.
It leaves moreover entirely unexplained the case men-
tioned on p. 121, in which the man, not the bride, is
captured.

The explanation which I have suggested derives
additional probability from the evidence of a general
feelmg that marriage was an act for which some com-
pensation was due to those whose rights were invaded.

The nature of the ceremonies by which this was
effected makes me reluctant to enter into this part of
the subject at length ; and I will here therefore merely
indicate in general terms tlie character of the evidence.
I will firstly refer to certain details given by
Dulaure'*^ in his chapter on the worship of Venus,
of whicli he regards these customs merely as one
illustration, although they have, I cannot but think, a
signification deeper than, and different from, that which
he attributes to them.

We must remember that the better known savage
races have, in most cases, now arrived at the stage in
wliich Daternal ri<>lits are recomiised, and lience that

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^ Iliat. abro''ce dcs dill". Cultes.

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126

TEMPORARY WIVES.

fatlicrs can and do sell thei' daiiuliters into iiiatriniony.
Tlie price of a wii'c is ol' course rcfrnlated by ilio
circuinstancGS of the trihc, an.l every, or nearly eveiy,
industrious youn<( man is enabled to buy one for liiiu-
self. As lonti:, liowever, as communal niarriiiije riul)ts
were in force this Avould be almost itu[)ossible. That
special marriage was an infringeuient of these com-
munal rigiits, for which ^ome compensation was due,
seems to me the true explanation of the offerings which
vin^ins wore .so generjilly compelled to make before
being permitted to marry. ^

The same feeling, probal)ly, gave rise to the curious
custom existing, according to Stralio,^ among the (i*ar-
thian) Tapyrians, that when a man had two or three
children by one wife, he was obliged to leave her, so that
she might marry some one else. There is some reason
to suppose that a similar custom once prevailed among
the Romans ; thus Cato, who was proverbially austere
in his morals, did not think it right permanently to
retain his Avife Martia, whom his friend liortensius
w^ished to marry. This he accordingly permitted, and
]\Iartia lived with liortensius until his death, wdien she
returned to her first husband. Tlie high character
of Cato is sulHcient proof ^hat he would not have
permitted this, if he had regarded it as wrong ; and
Plutarch expressly states that the custom of lending
wives existed amon;>' the Ivomans. Akin to this feeliuir
is that which induces so many savage tribes ^ to provide
their guests with temporary wives. To omit this would

' See Appendix. Pi)lym'siaiis, Australiaus, Berbers,

' Stnibo, ii. pp. 515, 520. ICasteru and "\Vt .«tei'n Nejrroes,

* For instance, the Esquimaux^ Arabs, Abyssiuiaiis, Kallirs, Mongols,

North and South American Indians, Tutaki, &c.

EXOQAMY.

be regarded as (jiiite inliospital)le. The practice, more-
over, seems to recomise the existercc of a ri«;ht in-
herent in every member of tlie community, and to
visitors as temporary mein])ers ; wliich, in the case of
the latter, could not bo abro<!;ated l)y arranij^ements
made before their arrival, and, conse([nently, without
tlieir concurrence. Tlie prevalence of tliis custom
])rin;:^s home to us ibrclbly tlie ditference existing
between tlie savn<i:e and the civilised modes of rciiard-
ing the relation of the sexes to one another.

I^erhaps the most striking case of all is that afforded
by some of the Brazilian tribes. The captives taken
by them in war used to be kept for some time and fatted
up; after which they were killed and eaten. Yet even
here, during the time that they had to live, each poor
wretch was generally provided with a temporary wife.^

This view also throws some light on the remarkable
subordination of the wife to the husband, which is so
characteristic of marriage, and so curiously inconsistent
with all our avowed ideas ; moreover it tends to explain
those curious cases in which Hctaira3 were held in
greater estimation than those women ^\ ho were, as avc
should consider, properly and respectably laarried to a
single husband.''^ The formc^r were originally fellow-
countrywomen and relations ; the latter captives and
slaves. And even when this ceased to be the case,
the idea v/ould long survive the circumstances which
gave rise to it.^

I now pass to the curious custom, for which
^I'Lennan has ])roposed the convenient term ' exo-

' LulituUjMoeursdeySauv. Aui6r., pp. xix. 125. Burton's Lake lle-
vol, ii, p. 2\)L gioiis of Africa, vol. i. p. 108.

* Bachofen, Da.< Mutterrecht, ' See Appendix.

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* ^jiniy ' — that, imiiicly, of iiccussarily inai'rying out of
tlio trilM!. T'-lor, wlio also (.'ailed particular attention
to tills L'usloin in liis iiitcrestin;:* work on 'The I'.arly

* History of Man,' which was piiblislud in the very
same year as AI'Lcnnan's ' Priiiiitive Marria<;c',' thoiin^ht
that ' the evils of marrying' near relatives might be the
' main rnvnind of this series of restrictions.' Mori'an '
also considers exogamy as ' ('X])lainable, and oidy ex-
' j)lainable, as a reformatory movemciil to break up the
' interuiarriage of bio d relations,' and which could only
be eifected by exogamy because all in the tribe were
regarded as related. We cannot however attribute to
savages any such farsiglitcd ideas. jMoreover, in I'act,
exogamy afforded little protection against the marriage
of relatives, and, wherever it was systematised, it \)vv-
mitted marriage even between liiilf brothers and sisters,
either on the father's ov mother's side, \\ here an
obiection (o the intermarriaiic of relatives existed,
exogamy was unnecessary ; where it did not exist,
exogamy, if this view was correct, could not arise.

M'Lennan says, ' 1 believe this restriction on uiar-
' riage to be connected Avith the practice in early times
' of female inl'anticide, which, rendering women scarce,
' led at once to [)olyandry within the tribe, and the caj)-
' tiuinji: of women from without.' - He has not alluded
to the natural preponderance of men over W(jmen. Thus,
throughout Europe, the [)ro[)ortio]i of boys to girls is as
loo to loo.'"' Here, therefore, even without infanticide,
we see that there is no exact balance between the
sexes, in many savage races, in various parts of the

' 1*1 uc. Aim-r. Actid. of Arts and
Scieiicet^, 1800.

- Lvc. (it. p. l.'5S.

•'' Wnitz* Aiithropolngy, p. Ill,

'I'S,

ill)

tlie
tlic

(Ui'KlIX OF EXO(IA}fy

129

world, it lias been ol)servt'«l tlic men an* miuli more
iiimuTous, but it is difficult to asci!rtaiii how far this
is due to an original difference, and how far to other
causes.

It is conc'Mvahle that the ditference between endo-
gamous and exo«:;anious tribes may have been due to
the different proportion of the sexes : those races tend-
ing to beconie exoframous where boys prevail ; those, on
the other hand, endoii^amous where the reverse is the
case.^ I am not, however, aware that we have any
statistics which enable us to determine this j)oint, nor
do I believe that it is the true explanation of the
custom.

Infanticide is, no doubt, very prevalent among
savatres. As h^ni;', indeed, as men were few in number,
enemies were scarce and game was tame. Under these
circumstances, there was no temptation to infanticide.
V'lere were some things which women could do better
than men — some occupations which pride and laziness,
or both, induced them to leave to the women. As
soon, however, ar in any country i)opulation became
even slightly more dense, neighbours became a nuisance.
They invaded the hunting grounds, and disturbed the
game. Hence, if for no other reason, wars would arise.
Once begun, they would continually break out again
and again, under one pi'etence or another. Men for
slaves, women for Avives, and the thirst for glory, made
a weak tribe always ii tem))tation to a strong one.
Under these circumstances, feinah; ehihh'cn became a
soiu'ce of weakness in several ways. They ate, and did
not hujit. They weakened their mothers when young

■ See Das M utterrecht, p. 101).
K

* If) M V

> .y.i • * t

: wtVW

I . ' i I

-I

i>»'

180

ORIGIN OF EXOGAMY.

: i"

and, when <(ro\vn-u|), were ii temptation to .surrounding
trilK's. Hence female infanticide in easily accounted for.
Yet I cannot regard it as the true cause of exogamy.
It does not ai)pear to have been so general as Mr.
M'lA'iinan supposes, nor does it specially characterise
the very hjwest races.

I cannot then regard as watisfactoty any of the
explanations which have hitherto been ])roposed to
account for the origin of exogamy. The true solution
is, I think, of a different character. We must remem-
ber that under the communal system the women of
the tribe were all common property. No one could
appropriate one of them to himself without infringing
on the general rights of the tribe. Women taken in
war were, on the contrary, in a diflerent position. The
tribe, as a tribe, had no right to them, and men surely
would reserve to themselves exclusively their own
prizes. These captives then would naturally become
the wives in our sense of the term. Several causes
would tend to increase the im[)ortance of the se[)arate,
and decrease that of conununal, marriage. The im-
pulse which it would give to, and receive back from, the
development of the alFections ; the convenience with
reference to domestic arrangements ; the natural wishes
of the wife herself ; and, last not least, the inferior
energy of the children sprung from ' in and in '
marriages, would all tend to increase the importance of
individual marriage.

Even were there no other cause, the advantage of
crossing, so well known to breeders of stock, would
soon give a marked preponderance to those races by
whom exogamy was largely practised, and for several

vol.
U2.

VUEVM.KSCE OF lIXOdAMY—A UsThWI.lA.

i\n

rensoiiM tlu'rulorc wo nvvA not In* siirpriscfl lo lind cxo-
^luny very prevalent ain(>ii<if the lower races of nmn.
Wlien tins state of tliiiij^s had «»;one on for some time,
UHa<(e, as M'Lennan well oijserves, would ' estahlish a
'prejudiee amon^f the trihes observing* it — a prejudice
'strong US a prineijdc of religion, as every prejudice
' rchiting to nuirriage is apt to be — agaui.st marrying
* women of their stock.' '

We sliouM not, perhaps, liave <) in'inl expected to
find among savages any such remarka})le restriction, yet
it is very widely distributed ; and from this point of
view we can, I think, ck'arly see how it ai'ose.

In Australia, where the same family names are com-
mon ahnost over the whole continent, no man may
marry a woman whose fa?uily name is the same as his
own, and who beh)ngs therefore to the same tribe. ■^
' No man,' says Mr. Lang, ' can marry a woman of
' the same cLan, though the parties be no way rehited
' according to our ideas.' ^

In many parts there are four male and four femaiO
names in each tribe. Thus : —

The Kimilaroi natives, near Sydney, are divided into
four families,* in which the males are known as ippai,
murri, kubbi, and kumbo ; the fenudes, ippata, matha,
kapota, and butha.

' I. Ipai may marry kubitha.

' II. Muri may marry only butha.

' III. Kubi may marry only ipatha.

' Loc. (if. p. MO. p. K). Taplin'.s Tlu' Naiiiiv.ii, )>. I.

* Eyre's Discoveries in Australia, '' Pritcliard's Nat. Hist, ul' Mau,

vol. ii. p. 329. Grey's Journal, p. vol. ii. p. 491. Ridley's Juurn.

242. Anthr. Inst. 1872, p. 203. Lang's

^ The Aboriffinee of Australia, Queensland, p. 383.

K 2

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132

A USTUA LIA— AFRICA.

' IV. Kumbu may marry only matha.^

' Any attempt to infringe these rules would be
' imanimously resisted, even to bloodshed ; but it seems
' they never dream of attempting to transgress them.'

Even if a man has captured a woman in war, he
may not marry her if she belongs to a forbidden class.

' I. The children of ipai by kubitha are all muri.

' II. The children of muri are all ippai and ippata.

' III. The children of kubi are all kumbu and
' butha.

' IV. The children of ku: nbu are all kubi and
' kubitha.'

The natives of West Australia and Port Lincoln are
divided into two great clans, and no man mjiy marry
p woman of the same clan.'^ So also in New Britain
the natives are divided into two classes, and marriage
between persons of the same clan is thought very dis-
reputable.^

In Eastern Africa, Burton ^ says that ' some ckns of
' th^ Somal will not marry one of the same, or even of
' a consanguineous family ; ' and the Bakalari have the
same rule.*''

Du Chaillu,*^ speaking of Western Equatorial Africa,
says, ' the law of marriages among the tribes I have
* visited is peculiar ; each tribe is divided into clans ;

* I have slightly altered tlie spell-
ing of these names, as suggested by
Mr. Fison, because that originally
given by Mr. Ridley is said not ex-
actly to represent the pronunciation,
and does not bring out the fact that
the sisters' names are merely those of
the brothers with the feminine ter-
mination * tha.' Matha and Butha

are short for Muritha and Kumbutha.

^ Forrest, Journ. Anthrop. Insti-
tute, vol. V. p. 317.

^ Brown, quoted in Wallace's
Australasia, p. 470.

' First Footsteps, p. 120.

^ Trans. Ethn, Soc, N.S., vol. i.
p. li'2l.

•^ Ibid. p. 307.

IIINDOHTAN.

13:}

* the children in most of the tribes belong to the clan of
' the mother, and these cannot by any possible laws
' marry amon<i, theTiiselves, however removed in degree
' they may have been connected : it is considered an
' abomination among tliem. Hut there exists no ob-
' jection to possessing a father's or brother's wife. I
' could not but be struck with the healthful influence

* of such regulations against blood marriages among
' them.'

In India the Khasias/ Juangs,^ and Waralis are
divided into sections, and no man may marry a woman
belonging to his own section. In the Magar tril)es
these sections are called Thums, and tlie same rule pre-
vails. Colonel Dalton tells us that ' the Hos, Moondahs,
' and Oraons are divided into clans or keelis, and may
' not take to wife a girl of the same keeli.' Again, the
Garrows are dividec". into ' uiaharis,' and a man may not
marry a girl of h'.s own ' mahari.'

The Munnieporees and other tribes inha])iting the
hills round Munniepore — the Koupooees, I\[ows, Mu-
rams, and Murrings, as M'Lennan points out on the
authority of M'Gulloch — ' are each and all divided into
'four families: Koonu'ul, Looang, Angom, and Xing-
' thaja. A member of any of these families may marry
' a member of any other, but the intermarriage of
' members of the same fjimily is strictly prohibited.' ^
On the contrary, the Todas, says Metz,* ' are divided
' into five distinct classes, known ])y the nan.^s Peiky,
' Pekkan, Kuttan, Kennae, and Tody ; of whicli tlie

' Godwin Austen, Journ. Antbr.
Inst., 1871, p. 131.

- Dalton's Uescr. I'^thn.of Ben<ral,

p. ins.

^ Account of the Valley of Mun-
niepoiv, 1 sry.), pp. 4f), GO.

* Trilx's of the Neilgherry Hills,
p. 21.

f ■ ^'f ■'•■■"1

I- 1 t J.. '•■,''31

:^*

NEPAUL— CEYLON— GIIWASSIA

' first is regarded as the most aristocratic. These classes
' do not even intermarry with each other, and can there-
' fore never lose their distinctive characteristics/ The
Khonds, as we arc informed by General Campbell, ' re-
' gard it as degrading to bestow their daughters in
' marriage on men of their own tribe ; and consider it
' more manly to seek their wives in a distant country.' ^
Major M'Pherson also tells us that they consider mar-
riage between people of the same tribe as wicked, and
l)unishable with death. The mountain tribes of Nepaul,
before the advent of the Rajpoots, are said to have con-
sisted of twelve Thums or clans, and no man was per-
mitted to marry a woman of the same Thum.'^

We are mdebted to Mr. Brito,^ of Colombo, for a
very interesting treatise on the rules of succession among
the JMukkuvars of Ceylon. These rules are founded on
the custom tliat no one may marry a person of the
same ' kadi,' i.e. anyone who is related on the mother's
side. Indeed, all relationship is from the mother, none
from the father ; succession is traced through the
mother ; huid, if inherited, is out of marital power, and
is managed by the males for the females.

The Kalmucks, according to De Hell, are divided
into hordes, and no man can marry a woman of the
same horde. The bride, says Bergman, speaking of the
same people, is always chosen from another stock ;
' among the Derbets, for instance, from the Torgot
' stock, and among the Torgots from the Derbet
' stock.'

Tlie same custom prevails among the Circassians and

' ( 'imipbcll, ]). 142. doiii of Nopaul, p. 27.

'^ lliiniilton's ..ccuuntof tilt' Kiim- •' The .Nliikkiivii Law.

CHINA— NORTH AMERICA.

136

the Samoyedes. ^ The Ostyaks regard it as a crime to
marry a woman of the same family or even of tlie same
name. ^

When a Jakiit (Siberia) wishes to marry, he must,
says Middendorf,^ choose a girl from another clan. No
one is permitted to marry a woman from his own. In
China, says Davis, ^ 'marriage between all persons of
the same surname being unlawful, this rule must of
course include all descendants of the male branch f6r
ever ; and as, in so vast a population, there are not a
great many more than one hundred surnames through-
out the empire, the embarrassments that arise from so
strict a law must be considerable.'

Among the Tinne Indians of North-west America,
a Chit-sangh cannot, by their rules, ^ marry a Chit-
sangh, although the rule is set at nought occasionally ;
but when it does take place the persons are ridiculed
and laughed at. The man is said to have married his
sister, even though she may be from another tribe,
and there be not the slightest connection by blood
between them. The same way with the other two
divisions. The children are of the same colour as
their mother. They receive caste from their mother :
if a male Chit-sangh marry a Nah-tsingh woman, the
children are Nah-tsingh ; and if a male Nah-tsingh
marry a Chit-sangh woman, the children are Chit-
sangh, so that the divisions arc always changing. As
the fathers die out, the country inhaljited by the

' Pallas, vol. iv. p. 90.

2 Ibid. vol. iv. p. 00.

•' SiMrische Reise, p. 72. See
also MiilU'r's I)e.*cv. de toutos les
Uaot'S de I'l'liiip. do Russie, pt. ii.

p. 58.

' The (lliinese, vol. i. p. 2H2.

•'■ Notes on the Tiinieli. Ilar-
dlsty, Siuithsunian Report, 1800,
p. .315.

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13<)

EXOGAMY IN XOKTH AMEIUCA.

' (yliit-sangh becomes occupied by the Nuli-tsingh, and
' so rlrc ver-'^a. They are coritimially clianging coiin-
' tries, as it were.'

Among the Konaiyers (N.AV, America), 'it Avas tlie
' custom tliat the men of one stock should choose their
'wives from another, and the offs[)rlng belonr /'^ to the
' race of the mother. Tliis custom has fallen into
' disuse, and marriages in the same tribe occur ; but the
' old people say that mortality among Kenaiyers has
' arisen from the nef>:lect of the ancient usaf][e. A man's
' nearest heirs in this tribe are his sister's chihiren.' ^
The Tsimsheean Indians of British Columbia^ are
similarly divided into tribes and totems, or 'crests,
' which are common to all the tribes. The crests are
' the whale, the porjjoise, the eagle, the coon, the wolf,
' and the frog. In connection with these crests, several
' very important points of Indian character and law are
' seen. The relationship existing between penson^ of
' the same crest is nearer thnn that between i.iembers
' of the same tribe, which is seen in this, that membei's
' of the same tribe may marry, but those of the same
' crest are not allowed to do so under any circumstances ;
' that is, a whale may not marry a whale, but a w^hale
' may marry a frog. &c.'

Very similar rules exist among the Thlinkeets,^ and
indeed, as regards the Northern Redskins generally,
it is stated* in ArchiPologia Americana that 'every
' nation was divided into a number of clans, varying in

•i

' Ricliavdson'ii lioat Jom-iioy,
■vol. i, p. 400. See also Smithsonian
.Hoi)ort, 18GG, p. l\-2(].

'* Metlahkallali, published by tho
I'h'ivoh Missionai'v Social v, 1S0',>,

p. 0.

•' Bancroft, lor. cit. vol. i. p. 100.

■» (lullatin, loo. cit. vol. xi. p. 109.
Laiitan, vol. i. p. r>i)S. TannerV
Narrativf, p. 313.

EXOGAMY IN SOUTH AMEfUCA.

V,i7

' the several nations from three to eight or ten, the
' members of whicli respectively were (lisj>erse(l indis-
' criminately througliont the whole nation. It has beeii
'fully ascertained thjit tlie inviolable regulations by
' which these clans were perpetuated amongst the
' southern nations were, first, that no man could marry
'in his own clan; secondly, that every child should
' belono; to his or her mother's clan.'

Among the IMayas of Yucatari, according to Herrera,
marriage was forbidden between i)eople of the same
name.

The Indians of Guiana,^ ' arc divided into families,
' each of which has a distinct name, as the Si/ridi,
' Karimfuj/i, Onisidi^ &c. Unlike our families, these all
' descend in the female line, and no individual of either
' sex is allowed to marry another of the same fjunily
' name. Thus, i. woman of the Siwidi family bears the
' same name as her mother, but neither her father nor
' her husband can be of that family. Her children and
' the children of her daughters will also be called Siwidi,
' but both her sons and daughters are prohibited from
' an alliance with any individual bearing the same name ;
' though they may marry into the family of their father
'if they choose. These customs are strictly observed,
'and any breach of them would l)e considered as
' wicked.'

The Ih'azilian races, according to j\[artius, differ
greatly in their marriage regidations. In some of the
very scattered tribes, who live in small families far
remote from one another, the nearest relatives often
interuiarry. In more populous districts, on the contrary,

' Brett's Tndian Tribes of (luiiiiia, ]>. 98.

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138

Till': CAUSES OF POLYGAMY .

the tribes are divided into families, and a strict system
of exogamy prevails. ^ In Mangaia, according to Mr.
Gill, in olden times, a man was not permitted to marry
a woman of his own tribe.^

Thus, then, we see that this remarkable custom
of exogamy exists throughout Western and Eastern
Africa, in Circassia, Hindostan, Tartary, Siberia, China,
Polynesia, and Australia, as well as in North and South
America.

The relations existing between husband and wife in
the lower races of man, as indicated in the preceding
pages, are sufficient to remove all surprise at the preva-
lence of polygamy. There are, however, other causes,
not less powerful, though perhaps less prominent, to
which much influence must be ascribed. Thus in all
tropical regions girls become marriageable very young ;
their beauty is acquired early, and soon fades, while
men, on the contrary, retain their full powers much
longer. Hence, when love de[)ends, not on similarity of
tastes, pursuits, or sympathies, but entirely on external
attractions, we cannot wonder that every man who is
able to do so provides himself with a succession of
favourites, even when the first wife remains not only
nominally the head, but really his confidant and adviser.
Another cause lias no doubt exercised great influence.
Milk is necessary for children, and in the absence of
domestic animals it consequently follows that they are
not weaned imtil they are several years old. The effect
of this on the social relations has been already referred
to {(mfc, p. 81).

» Zoc cif. p. (};j.

* Savajre Life in Polynesia, p. 130.

rOLYANDRY.

131»

Polyandry, on the contrary, is far less comii.on,
though more frequent than is generally supposed.
M'Lennan and Morgan, indeed, both regard it as a
phase through which human progress has necessarily
passed.

If, however, we define it as the condition in which
one woman is married to several men, but (as distin-
guished from communal marriage) to them exclusively,
then I am rather disposed to regard it as an ex-
ceptional phenomenon, arising from the paucity of
females.

M'Lennan, indeed, ^ gives a long list of tribes which
he regards as polyandrous, namely, those of Thibet,
Cashmeer, and the Himalayan reg on.s, the Todas,
Coorgs, Nairs, and various other races in India, in
Ceylon, in New Zealand,^ and one or two other i*acific
islands, in the Aleutian Archipelago, among the
Koryaks, the Saporogian Cossacks, on the Orinoco, in
parts of Africa, and in Lancerote. He also mentions
the ancient Britons, some of the Median cantons, the
Picts, and the Getes, while traces of it occurred among
the ancient Germans. On the other hand, to the in-
stances quoted by M'Lennan we may add that of some
families among the Australians, ^ Nukahivans, "* and
Iroquois.

If we examine the above instances, some of them
will, I think, prove irrelevant. The passage referred
to in Tacitus^ does not a^^pear to me to justify us in
regarding the Germans as having been polyandrous.

' Loc. cit. p. 180.

* I.tifitau, loc. cit, vol. i, p. 555.

■' (u-ylanJ's Waitz' Anthropo-

logit', vol. vi. p. 774.

' Ib'^l. vol. vi. p. 128.
'•' Gonuania, xx.

III

■ 'ml

I it,.:',:;

140

I'OLYA NDRY EXdKPTIONA L.

it'

11* ! i1'

VAiniin is correctly referred to by M'T.ennan ns
mentioning the existence of ' lawful polyandry in the
' Aleutian Islands.' Tie does not, howe\er, give his
authority for the stateiueut. The account he gives of
the Koryaks by no means, I think, proves that poly-
andry occu'- nmor ; ti em. The case of the Kalmucks,
to jut, ^e frotu {])'■ ipcount given by Clarke,^ is certainly
one in whiJi !)'(>thLr&, but brothers only, have a wife in
common.

For Polynesia, M'Lennan relies on the Legend of
liupe, as told by Sir G. Grey.- Here, however, it
is merely stated that two brothers named Thuatamai
and Ihuwareware, having found Hinauri, when she was
thrown by the surf on the coast at Wairarawa, ' looked
' upon her with pleasure, and took her as a wife between
* them both.' This seems to me rather a case of com-
munal marriage than of polyandry, es})ecially when the
rest of the legend is borne in mind. Neither is the evi-
dence as regards Africa at all satisfactory. The cus-
tom referred to by M'Lennan "^ probably originates in
the subjection of the woman which is there im])lied by
marriage, and which may be regarded as inconsistent
with high rank.

Several of the above cases are, indeed, I think,
merely instances of communal marriage. Lideed, it is
evident that where our information is incomplete, it
must often be far from easy to distinguish between
communal marriage and true polyandry.

Polyandry is no doubt wddely distributed in Ceylon,
India, and Thibet, and among somc of the hill tribes

' Travels, vol. i. ]). 241. - Polynesian Mytholojry, v. 81.

■' IJeade's Savnge AlVica, p. 43.

TJfE 8YS"I']M OF LEVI I! ATE.

of India. A very pretty l)n|)lilii <^\\'\ once canic into
tlie stfition ol' {.uckinijuir, threw herself at Colonel
l)alton's fe^t, ' and in most ^oetical lan<j^iia<!;e asked me
' <(ive her my protection.' She was }>r()mi.sed hy
her father to a man wliom she did not love, and had
' eloped witli her beloved. This was interesting; and
' romantic.' Colonel Dalton sent for the beloved, and, he
says, ' the romance was dispelled. She had eloped with
' two young men.'' In Ceylon the joint hiisban'^'< are
always brothers,- and this is also the case aiiioi jr • e
tribes residing at the foot of the Himalaya^ Mr ^tn. ,, .
lUit, on the whole, lawful polyandry (as ( , p )s« i to
mere laxness of morality) seems to be an exceptional
system, generally intended to avoid the ev . arising
from monogamy where the number of women is less
than that of men.

The system of Levirate, under which, at a man's
death, his wife or wives i)ass to his brother, is, I
think, more intimately connected with the rights
of property than with polyandry. This custom is
widely distributed. It is found, for instance, among
the ]\Iongols^ and Kaffirs,^ and in Yucatan." When an
elder brother dies, says Livingstone, ^ ' the same thing
' occurs in respect of his wives ; the brother next in age
' takes them, as among the Jews, and the children that
' may be born of those women he calls his brothers
' also.'

< -1.

' 'i '.]

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1-:

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. !•

' Des. Etlin. of Bengal, p. 36.

* Davy's Ceylon, p. 286.

^ Fraser's Tour to the Ilimala
Mountains, pp. 70, 206.

* Wuttlif's Ges. dor Menscbheit,
vol. i. p. 22;i.

■' Arbousset's Tour to the N.E.
of tbe Capo of Good Hope, pp. 38,
138.

•' Ban-roft, vol. ii. p. 671.

^ Travels in South Africa, p.
185.

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112

EXDOdAMY.

In liidin, amnn^ tlic Nuirs, ' a man always takers to
' wife, by tlie custom called Saj^ai, his elder brother's

* widow.' ^ Anion <r the Pacific Islanders, Mr. Brenchlcy
HKjntions that in luToman^o ' the wives of deceased
' brothers fall to the eldest surviving brother.'*''

Similar statements have been made also as regards
some of the Negro tribes, the Mexicans, Samoans, New
Zealanders, and Khyens.

Passmg on now to the custoTu of endogamy,
M'Lennan remarks that ' the so})arate endogamous

* tribes are nearly as numerous, and they arc in some

* respects as rude, as the separate exogamous tribes.'*'

So far as my knowledge goes, on the contrary,
endogamy is much less prevalent than exogamy, and it
seems to me to have arisen from a feeling of race-pride,
as, for instance, in Peru,'* and a disdain of surrounding
tribes which were either really or hypothetical! y in a
lower condition, though in some cases it may be due to
weakness, and a consequent desire to avoid offending
powerful neighbours.

Among the Ahts of N.W. America, as mentioned
by Sproat, ' though the different tribes of the Aht na-
' tion are frequently at war with one another, women
' are not captured from other tribes for marriage, but
' only to be kept as slaves. The idea of slavery con-
' nected with capture is so common, that a free-born

* Aht would hesitate to marry a woman taken in war,
' whatever her rank had been in her own tribe.' ^

• Dalton's Des. I'^thii, of Bengal, ^ Wuttke's, Ges. der ^ffiischbeit,

p. 138. vol. i. pp. 325, 331.

" Cruise of the '('uracoa,'p. 319. ^ Sproat, Scenes and Studies of

^ Loc. cit. p. 145. Savape Life, p. 98.

EN DO a A MY.

\\:\

Endogamy also prevails aiiion^ sisvcral of the wild

trills of Central Ameriea. '

)f the Indi

as the AborH,'-^ KoceliH,

^onie oi me Indian races,
and lios, are forbidden to marry exce[)tin;^ within the
tribe. The latter at least, however, are not truly en-
do'^amous, for, as already mentioned, they are dividwl
into ' keelis ' or clans, and ' may not take to wife a f^irl
' of their own kv.'cli.'^ Thus they «ire in fact exo<^amous,
and it is possible that some of the other cases of endo-
gamy might, if we were better acqnahited with them,
present the same dujdex phenomenon.

Among the Yerkalas'' of Southern India 'a custom
' prevails by which the first two daughters of a family
' may be claimed by the maternal uncle as wives for his
' sons. The value of a wife is fixed at twenty pagodas.
' The maternal uncle's right to the first two daughters
' is valued at eight out of twenty pagodas, and is carried
' out thus : if he urges his preferential claim, and
' marries his own sons to his nieces, he pays for each
' only twelve pagodas ; and, similarly, if he, from not
' having sons, or any other cause, forego his claim,
' he receives eight })agodas of the twenty paid to
'the girls' parents by anybody else who may marry
' them.' Among some of the Karon tribes marriage
between near relations is the rule.'*

The Doingnaks, a branch of the Chukmas, appear
also to have been endogamous, and Captain I.ewin
mentions that they ' abandoned the i)arent stem during
'the chiefship of Jaunbux Khan, about 1782. The

' Bancroft, vol. i. p. 703. •» Shortf , Trans. Ethn. Soc, N.S.

■ Dalton'sDescr. Ethn. of Bengal, vol. vii. p. 187.
p. 28. ^ Ante, p. 10.3, * M'Mahon, p. oO.

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I'JSDoaAMY

* reaHou of this split, wiis ii (lisji<^r('('iii('iit on tlio siiljjcct

* of iiiamn«ifeH. The cliii'f passccl an order that tlie
' Doinjjjnaks shonhl intorinarry with the trilu! in <;t'neral.

* Tliis waH contrary to ancient custom, and caused dis-
' content and eventually a l)reak in the tribe.' ' Tiiis
is one of the very few cases wluire we have evidence
of Ji clian;;e in this res[)ect.

The Kahni<;s of »lava are also en(h)^ainous, and
when a man asks a ^irl in niarriaijfc he must prove
his descent froin their ])eculiar stock.'"^ The Mantchu
Tartars lbrl)id marriages between those whose; family
names are different.'' Amon<]f the P>edouins, ' a man
' lias an exchisive rijj^ht to the hand of his cousin,' *
and it is the custom of the Karens that ' marriji<;t;s
'must always be contracted by relutions.' ^ Livin«i-
stone also mentions that in South Africa the women
of the Akombwi ' never internuu'ry with any other
' tribe.' ^ In Guam brothers and sisters used to inter-
marry, and it is even stated that snch unions were
preferred as being most natural and proper.' En-
dogamy would seem to have prevailed in the Sandwich
IsUmds,** and in New Zeahmd, where, as Yate mentions,
' great opposition is made to anyone taking, except
' for some political purpose, a wife from another tribe,

* so that such intermarriages seldom occur.' ^ Barrow

» Lewin'H Hill Tracts of Chitta-
gon>r, p. 65.

' liaffles' History of Java, vol. i.
p. 328.

^ M'Lounan, loc cit. p. 146.

' Burckhardt's Notos on the
}3«'doiiins and Wababvs, vol. i. pp.
113, 27-2.

* Morgan, Syst. of Oons. and Ail',
of the Ilunian Family, p. 444.

•* IjS.1. to the Zambesi, p. 30.

■^ Araj^o's Letters. Freycinet's
Voyage, vol. ii. p. 17.

» Ihul. p. {»4.

'■> New Zealand, p. Oft.

TNI': MI IK. Till

115

nioiitions tbut tin; llottcntois scldnin ninrrir'l rmt of
tlioir own krnal.' On tlio wliolo, Iiowevor, cndonnmy
HeeniK a fjir Ickh common cuHtom tlian o\()«;jitny.

The idea of rc'lationsliip as oxistin*:,- amonust iis,
foiin(l(Ml on niarna;,f(', and unplyinLT equal connection of
a child to its faflici* and mother, seems so natural and
obvious that tlicrc arc, ])crhaps, mnny to whom the
possibility of any other system has not occurred. The
facts already recorded will, however, have |)repare<] iis W^r
the existence of peculiar ideas on the subject of relntion-
ship. The strength of the foster- feel inir, th(! milk -tie,
amon<( the Scotch Highlanders is a fatiiiliju* instance
of a mode of regarding relntionshii) very dilleiTnt j'roni
that prevalent amongst us.

We have also seen that, under the ciistoiu of com-
munal marriage, a child was regard('<l as related to
the tribe, but not specially to any particular father
or mother. Such a state of things, indeed, is only
possible in very small conmuuiitics. It is evident
that under communal marriage — and little less so
wherever polygamy ju'cvailed, and men had many
wives — the tie between father and son must have
been very slight. Among agricultural ti'ibes, and
under settled forms of government, the chiefs often
have very . u-ge harems, and their im[)ortance even is
measured by the number of their wives, as in other
cases by that of their cows or horses.

This state of things is in many Avays very preju-
dicial. It checks, of course, the natural ad'eeiiou ;ind
friendly intercourse between man and wife. The Kin"*
of Asliantee, for instance, always had o,o33 wives •

■ Travtils) iu South Africu, vol. i. p. 144.

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146

RELATIONSHIP TflliOUGH FEMALES.

Init iio man can love so many women, nor can so many-
women cherish any personal aifection for one man.

Even among hunting races, though men were im-
able to maintain so many wives, still, as changes are of
frequent occunence, the tie between a mother and child
is much stronger than that wliich binds a child to its
father. Hence we find that among many of the lower
races relationship through females is the prevalent
custom, and we are thus able to understand the curious
practice that a man's heirs are not his own, hut his
sister's children.

By some it has been regarded as indicating the high
respect paid to women. Thus Plutarcl tells us that
' Avhen Bellerophon slew a certain wild boar, which
' destroyed the cattle and fruits in tlie province of the
' Xanthians, and received no due reward of his services,
' he prayed to Neptune for vengeance, and obtained
' that all the fields should cast forth a salt dew and be
' universally corrupted, which continued till he, conde-
' scendingly regarding the women suppliants, prayed to
' Neptune and removed his wrath from them. Kence
' there was a law among the Xanthians, that they should
' derive their names in future, not from the fathers, but
' from the mothers.' ^

Montesquieu ^ regarded relationship through females
as intended to prevent the accumulation of landed pro-
perty in few hands — an explanation manifestly inap-
jdicabie to many, nay, the majority, of cases in Avhicb
the custom exists — and the explanation above suggested
is, I have no doubt, the correct one.

' Plutarcli, Coucernin<r the Virtues of Women.
^ I-lsprit dt'S Loiy, vol. i. p. 70.

RELATIOXSUir TlUiOUOII FEMALES.

147

Thus, when a ricli man dies in Guinea, his })roperty,
excepting the armour, descended to the sister's son,
expressly, according to Smith, on the ground tliat he
uuist certainly be a relative.' Jiattel mentions that the
town of Longo (Loango) ' is governed by four chiefs,
' which are sons of the King's sisters ; for the king's
' sons never come to be kings.' ^^ Quatremere mentions
that ' Chez les Xubiens, dit Abou Selah, lorsqu'un roi
' vient a mourir et qu'il laisse un fils et un neveu du
' cote de sa sceur, celui nionte sur le trone de prefe-
' rence a I'heritier naturel.' '^

In Central Africa, Caillie* says that ' the sovereignty
' renuiins always in the same family, but the son never
' succeeds his father ; they choose in preference a son of
' the king's sister, conceiving that by this method the
' sovereign power is more sure to be transmitted to one
' of the blood royal ; a precaution which shows how
' little faith is put in the virtue of the women of this
' country.' In South Africa, among the l>angalas of the
Cassanffe vallev, ' the sons of a sister belono; to her
'brother ; and he often sells his nephews to pay his
' debts ; ' ^ the Banyai ' choose the son of the deceased
' chief's sister in preference to his own oif spring.' In
Northern Africa we find the stmie custom among the
Berbers ;^ Burton records it as existing in the North-

i- |:.

If
•i

'*. 'if

' Smith's Voyage to Guinea, p. 1811. Quoted in Bachofen's Mu^ter-
14;J. See also Pinkerton's Voyaj^es, recht, p. 108.

■» (^aillie's Travels, vol. i. p. 153.
IJarth's Travels, vol. i. \\ 'VM ; vol. ii.
p. L

vol. XV. pp. 417, 421, 528. Astley's
Collection of Vovape.i, vol. ii. pp.
C3, 256.

* Pinkerton's ^'oyages, vol. xvi.
p. .331.

•' Mt5m. Gdogr. sur I'Egypte et

>r:i

■'' Livingstone's Travels in South
Africa, pp. 434, 617.

'' La Mere chez certains peuples

sur quelques coutr^es voisines, Paris, de I'Antifiuiti?, p. 45.

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118 CAUSES AND WIDE DISTRIBUTION OF THE CUSTOM.

East ; and on the Congo, according tc Tuckey, the
chieftainships ' are hereditary, through the female line, un
' a precaution to make certain of the blood royal in the

* succession.' ^ Sibree mentions that the same is the case
in Madagascar, where the custom is defended expressly
on the ground ' tliat the descent can be proved from
' the mother, while it is often impossible to know the
' j)aternity of a child.' ^

Herodotus ^ supposed that this custom was peculiar
to the l^ycians : they have, he says, ' one custom pecu-
' liar to themselves, in which they differ from all other
' nations ; for they take their name from their mothers,
' and not from their fathers ; so that if anyone asks

* another who he is, he will describe himself by his
' mother's side, and reckon uj) his maternal ancestry in
' the female line.' Poly bins makes the same statement
as regards the Locrians ; and on Etruscan tombs
descent is stated in the female line.

In Athens, also, relationship through females pre-
vailed down to the time of Cecrops.

Tacitus,* speaking of the Germans, says, ' Children
' are regarded with equal affection by their maternal
' uncles as by their fathers ; some even consider this as
' the more sacred bond of consanguinity, and prefer it
' in the requisition of hostages.' He adds, ' A person's
' own children, however, are his heirs and successors ;
' no wills are made.' From this it would appear as if
female inheritance had been recently and not universally
abandoned. Among the Picts also the throne until a

ling,

' Tut'krv's }']x\). to lliu liivor
Zaire, p. 3(35.

- Madagascar UjkI its People, p.

l'J2.

^ Olio, 173.

' De Mor. Germ. xx.

NEGLECT OF FATEUNAL J? ELATION.

late period was always lield by right of the female.
In the Irish Legends it is stated that this Avas a
condition imposed by Kremon, wlio wlien the Picts
were about to invade Scotland suj)plied their, with a\ ives
on this condition.^

In India the Kasias, the Kocchs, and tlu; Xairs liave
the system of female kinsliip. l>iiclianan '"^ tells us that
among the Bantar in Tulava a man's property does not
descend to his own children, but to those of his sister.
Sir W. Eliot states that the people of Malal)ar ' all
' agree in one remarkable usau^e — that of transmitting:
'property through females only.'*' lie adds, on tlie
authority of Lieutenant Conner, that the same is the
case in Travancore, among all the castes except the
Ponans and the Namburi Brahmans.

As Latham states, ' no Xair son knows his own
' father ; and, vice ve}'f<(\ no Nair father knows his own
' son. What becomes of the property of the husband ?
' It descends to the children of his sister.' ^

Among the Limboos (India), a tribe near Darjee-
ling,'^ the boys become the property of tne father on his
paying the mother a small sum of money, wlien the child
is named and enters his father's tribe : <>'irls remain with
the mother, and belong to her tribe.

Marsden tells us,*^ that among the Battas of Sumatra
' tlnj succession to the cliiefships does not go, in the
' first instance, to the son of the deceased, but to the
' nephew by a sister ; and that the same extraordinary

1 W I
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M 1

' Ferguson, Tlie Irish before
the Conquest, p. 129.
2 Vol. iii. p. IG.

=> Trans. Elbn. Soc.,1800, p. 110.
* Descriptive Ethnolopy, \o\. ii.

p. 4(?n.

^ Canipbcll, Trims. I'ltlin. Soc,
N. S., vol. vii. p. 155.

^' Marstk'u's History of Sumatra,
p. ;i7(!.

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160

RELATIONSHIP TllltOUdll FEMALES.

' rule, with respect to the property in generiil, prevails

* also amongst tlie Malays of tliat part of the island,
' and even in the neiiiflil)ourhood of Padann^. The
' authorities for this are various and unconnected
' with each other, but not sufficiently circumstantial
' to induce me to admit it as a generally established

* ])ractice.'

Among the Kenaiyers at Cook's Inlet, according to
Sir John Ric-iardson, property descends, not to a man's
own children, but to tliose of his sister.'^ The same is
the case with the Kutcliin,''^ and it is said generally,
though not always, among the Columbian Indians.^

Carver* mentions that among the Hudson's Bay
Indians tlia children ' are always distinguished by the
' name of the n.other ; and if a woman marries several
' husbands, and has issue by each of them, they are all
' called after her. The reason they give for this is, tliat
' as their offspring are indebted to the father for tlieir
' souls, the invisible part of their essence, and to the
' mother for their corporeal and apparent part, it is
' more rational that they should be distinguished by the
' name of the latter, from whom they indubitably derive
' their being, than by that of the father, to which a
' doubt might sometimes arise whether they are justly
' entitled,' ' Descent amongst the Iroquois is in the
' female line, both as to the tribe and as to nationality.
' The children are of the tribe of the mother. If a
' Ca3Miga marries a Delaware woniiin, for example^ 1. is
" d'ildren are De^awares and aliens, unless formally

' P-ottt. Journey, vol. i. p. 40G.
' Sinitlisonian luport, 18G0, j>.

^ Jianrroft, vol. i. p. V.Ki.
•' Carver, p. 878. !See alt-o p.
259 ; also ante, p. 100.

SUBORDINATION OF PATERNAL RELATION.

15J

' r'ltiiralist'cl with tlie forms of adoption ; btit if a Dcla-
*ware marries a i'ayiii;a woman, her ohil<h'en arc
' Cay ugas, and of her tribe of the ('fiyu^'as. It is tlie
' same as if she marries a Seneca.' ^

In fact, among tlie Xortli American Indians gene-
rally, as we shall see more [)articiilarly in the next
chapter, the relationship of the nncle, that is to say, the
mother's brother, is more important than any other.
He is practically the head of his sister's family. Among
the Choctas, for instance, even now, if a boy is to be
placed at school, his nncle, and not his father, takes him
to the mission and makes the arranu^ement." A similar
rule prv^vailed in Hait^- and Mexico.' According to
(Jomara, among the Peruvians, except as regards the
Jncas, nephews inherited, not sous.

As regards Polynesia, ^Inriner states that in the
Friendly or Tonga Islands 'nobility descends by the
' female line ; for when the mother is not a noble, the
' children are not nobles.' ■* The same custom, or traces
of it, exist throughout Polynesia, but it wouhl sccm that
these islanders were passing from the stage of i tion-
ship through females iv» that through ma1< The
exiscence of inheritance through females is cIc.m i}^ indi-
cated in the Feejeean custom known as Vasu. n some
of the Carolines and Mariannes the higl honour
passed in the female lineJ^ In the Ilerviy Islands,
children belong either to the tribe of the father, or to

' Tdiijra Tsliinds, v^! ii. pp. 8!),

' Moiyan's Syst. of Cons, jiiul
All", of llio Tlmnaii Family, p. ifi*").
Hunter's (^aptivit., among the North
Anieriran Indians, p. 24!>.

■^ Morf^an, loo. cil. p. i>'tS.

^ Miiller, GeSidi. il. American.
Urrelipionen, pp. 1(57, 539.

111.

■' Hale, United Statc<f Ex. Exp.,
]). S;}. f}(-rhiiid, Cnn. d' Wailz'
Antlir., vol. V. pt. ii. pp. 108, 114,
117.

•i hi

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■I ii

1.V2 OniaiN OF RELATIONSHIP IN THE MALE LINE.

tlijit of the mother, accordin*^ to arrangement ; generally
however to that of the father.'

Ill Western Australi.'i, ' children of either sex al-
' ways take the family name of their mother.' ^ In
other districts, however, as, for instance, on the Lower
Murray, a man's childivn belong to his tribe, and not to
tluit of the movJicr.'^

Amonii; the ancient Jews, Abraham married his
half-sister, Xahor married his brother's daughter, and
Amram his father's sister ; this was })ermitted because
th(y were net regarded as relations. Tamar also evi-
dently miglit have married Amnon, though they were
both children of David : ' Speak nnto the king,' she
sjild, • for he will not withhold me from thee ; ' for, as
tli(;ir Miotliers were not the same, they were no relatione:
in the eye of the law.

S(jlon also permitted marriage with sisters on the
father's side, but not on the mother's.

Here, therefore, we have abundant evidence of the
second stage, in which the child is related to the
mother, and not to tlie father ; whence a man's heir is
his nephew on the sister's side — not his own child,
who is in some cases reo-arded as no relation to him
at all.

Wlien, liowever, marriage became more respected,
and the family atFections stronger, it is easy to see that
the rnit! under which a man's property went to his
sister's cliildivii would become unpopular, both with
tlie I'atlier, who would naturally wish his children to

' dill, .Myths of the Soutli Journal Anthrop. Institute, 1872,
I'a.ilic, p. :]0/ p. 204.

' J'iyro, /<«'. ct'f. p. 8.'J0. Ridley,

■' Taplm, TIio NarinytTi, p. 10,

* .

^.t .

CHANGE FROM FEMALE TO MALE KINSUIF. 153

inherit his property, and not lese so with the children
themselves.

M. Girard Teulon, indeed, to whom we are indebted
for a very interesting' memoir on this subject,^ regards
the first recognition of liis parental relationship as an
act of noble self-devotion on the part of some great
genius in ancient times. ' Le premier,' lie says, ' qui
' consentit a se reconnaitre pere fut un homme de genie
' et de ccEur, un des grands bienfaiteurs de rhumanit(^.
' Prouve en effet que I'enfant t'appartient. Es-tu siir
' qu'il est un autre toi-meme, ton fruit ? (jue tu I'as
' enfjmte ? ou bien, a I'aide d'une genereuse et volon-
' taire credulite, marches-tu, noble inventeur, a la con-
' c[uete d'un but superieur ? ' '^

15acliofen also, while iiharacterisiu"; the chanjjf'e from
female to male relationship as the ' wichtigsten Wtnde-
' punkt in der Geschichte des Geschlechts-Verhaltnisses,
explains it, as I cannot but think, in an altogether erro-
neous manner. Pie regards it as a liberation of the
spirit from the deceptive appearances of nature, an
elevation of human existence above the laws of mere
matter ; as a recognition that the creative power is the
most important ; and, in short, as a subordination of the
material to the spiritual part of our nature. By this
step, he says, • Man durchbricht die Bander des Tellur-
' ismus, und erliebt seinen Blick zu den hohern Regionen
'des Kosmos.' '^

These seem to me, I confess, very curious notions,
and I cannot at all n<i:i\-v. with them.

' La Mere chez certains peoples
de rAiiti(|uitt5.

•' Lor cit. p. .32,

The recog-

Bachofen, Das Mutterrecht, p.

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154 CHANG !•: b'ROM FKMALE TO MALE KLWSIIII'.

nition of paternal responsibility grew up, 1 believe,
gradually and from tlie force of circuniHtances, aided by
tlic impulses of natural affection. On tlic other liand,
tlie ado[)tion of relationsliip tlu'ougli the fatlier's line,
instead of through the mother's, was probably effect(;d
by the natiu'al wish which (everyone would ftsel that his
property should go to his own children. It is true that
we have very few cases like thjit of Athens, in whicli
there is a record of this change ; but as it is easy to
see how it miiiht have been brouolit about, and difficult
to su""i)Ose that the opposite step can ever have been
made ; as, moreover, we find relationship through the
father very general, not to say universal, in civilised
races, while the opposite system is very common among
savages, it is evident that this change must frequently
have been effected.

Taking all these facts, then, into consideration, when-
ever \ '.■ find relationship through females only, I think
Ave may safely look upon it as the relic of an ancient
barbarism.

As soon as the change was made, the father would
take the place held previously by the mother, and he,
instead of she, would be regarded as the parent.
Hence, on the birth of a child, the father would natu-
rally be very careful Avhat he did, and what he ate,
for fear the child should be injured. Thus, I believe,
arises the curious custom of the Couvade to which I
referred in my first chapter.

Relationship to the fatlier at first excludes thtit to
the mother, and, from having been regarded as no
relation to the former, children cmw to be looked on as
none to the latter.

li^ii

: iJ

systi:m of Kiysjiir THUouan maiJ'J.s.

In soine pjirt.s of South America, wliere it is cus-
tomary to treat captives well in every respect for a
certain time, ^iviuLj' them clothes, food, a wife, (Sec, and
tlien to kill and eat them, any chihlren they may have
are killed ;ind eaten also.' As a general rule iidierit-
nnce antl relationship g'o toi»'ether ; but in some parts of
Australia, while the old rule of tracin<i; descent throun'h
the mother still exists, property is inherited in the nude
line,''^ though it appears that the division is made during
the father's life.

How compK>t\;lv the idea of relationship throu<^h
the father, when oikv ivcognised, might replace that
through the mother, we may see in the very curious
trial of Orestes. Aiiamemnon, havinf»: been nuirdered
by his wife Clytenmestra, was avenged by their son
OrojsteN, who killed his mother for the murder of his
fatlWr. For this act he was prosecuted before the
tri^^un^l of the gods by the lu-innyes, whose function it
wa-s to punish those wdio shed the blood of relatives.
In his defence, Orestes asks them why they did not
P'Unish Clytenniestra for the murder of Agamemnon ;
and wdien they reply that usarriage does not constitute
l>lood relationship, — ' She was not the kindred of the
' man whom she slew,' — he pleads that by the same
rule they cannot touch him, because a man is a relation
to his father, but not to his mother. This view, though
it seems to u^ so unnatural, wan supported l)y AjxjUo
and Minerva, and being adopted by the majority of the
gods, W to the n<"<[uittal of Orestes.

Ilenre we see tliat the views prevalent on relation-

ft!

A:l

.♦• >

' i'l

','■

' I-a(itiur, vol, ii. 11. .107.

■ Oroy's Aui^tralia, vol. ii. i)p. 2l'G, li.'iO.

\r,(\

THE PTiESENT SYSTE}r

■

ship — views by which the whole >*ocial organisation is
so profoundly affected — are by no means the same
amon«j^ different races, nor uniform at the same histori-
cal period. We ourselves still confuse affinity and con-
sanf;;uinity ; but into tMs part of the question it is not
my intentiim to enter : the evidence brouf^ht forward
in the precedinf]^ ])ages is, however, I think, sufficient
to show that children were not in the earliest times
regarded as rtlated equally to their father and their
mother, but that the natural progress of ideas is, first,
that a child is related to his tribe generally ; secondly,
to his mother, and not to his father ; thirdly, to liis
father, and not to his mother ; lastly, and lastly only,
that he is related to both.

m ! ■ f

167

CHAPTER IV.

ON THE DEVELOrMENT OF KELATIONSllIl'S.

IN the previous c]ia})ter I have (iiscussed tlie ques-
tion of marrin^i^e as it exists ainoriii- the lower races
of men, and the relation of children to their parents. In
the present, T propose to consider the question of rela-
tionships in general, and to endeavour to trace u\) the
ideas on this suhject from their rudest form to that in
which they exist amongst more civilised races.

For the facts on which this chapter is based we are
mainly indebted to Mr. JMorgan, who has collected a great
mass of information on the subject, which has recently
been })ublished by the Smithsonian Institution. Though
1 dissent from Mr. Morgan's main conclusions, his work
appears to me one of the most valuable contributions
to ethnological science which has appeared for many
years. ^ It contains schedules, most of wliich are very
complete, giving the systems of relationships of no less
thiin 139 races or tribes ; and we have, therefore (though
there are still many lamentable deficiencies — the Sibe-
rians, South Americans, and true Negroes, being, for
instance^ as yei unrepresented), a great body of evidence
illustrating the ideas on the subject of relationshii)s
which prevail among different races of men.

' Systems of Consanguinity and Ailiuity of the Human Family, by
L. II. Morgan, 1670.

'Ill

'P:

' ',

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158 (fN Tiri'J DKVKLOVMEST aF inJ^ATrONSIIII'S.

Our own systuin of relation si lips naturally follows
from tlio marriage of single ])air.s ; and it is, in its gene-
ral nomenclature, so mere a description of the actual
facts, that most persons tacitly regard it as neccfsarily
general to the human race, with, of course, verbal and
unimportant differences in detail. Hence but little in-
formation can be extracted from dictionaries and voca-
bularies. They generally, for instance, give words for
uncle, aunt, and cousin ; but an uncle may be either a
father's brother or a mother's brother, and an aunt may
be either a father's sister or a mother's sister ; a first
cousin, {igain, may be the child of any one of these four
uncles and aunts ; but practically, as we shall see, these
cases are in many races distinguished from one another;
and I may add, in passing, it is by no means clear that
we are right in regarding them as identical and ecpiiva-
lent. Travellers have, on various occasions, noticed
with surprise some special peculiarity of nomenclature
which came imder their notice ; but Mr. Morgan was the
first to collect complete schedules of relationships. The
specifil points which have been observed have, indeed,
been generally regarded as mere eccentricities ; but this
is evidently not the case, because the principle or prin-
ciples to which they are due are consistently carried
out, and the nomenclature is reciprocal generally,
though not quite without exceptions. Thus, if the
Mohawks call a father's brother, not an uncle, but a
father, they not only cjdl his son a brother and his
grandson a son, but these descendants also use the
correlative terms.

We must remember that our ideas of relationships
are founded on our social system, jnid that, as other

1)1 FF inn: ST s ystems.

I'.O

'iecl

ply,

the

It II

his

the

llips
her

races have very different luil)its and ideas on this siil)-
ject, it is natural to expect tliat their systems of rela-
tionship woidd also differ from ours. I have in the
previous chapter })ointed out that the ideas and customs
with reference to marriage are very dissimilar in dif-
firent races, and we may say, as a general rule, that, as
we descend in the scale of civilisation, the family
diminishes, and the tribe increases, in importance.
Words have a i>rofound influence over thought, and
true family-names prevail principally among the highest
races of men. Kven in the less advanced portions of
our own country, we know that collective names were
those of the tribe, rather than the family.

I have already mentioned that among the Romans
the ' family ' was not a natural family in our sense of
the term. It was founded,' not on marriage, but on
power. The family of a chief consisted, not of those
allied to him by blood, but of those over whom he
exi'rcised control. Hence, an emancipated son ceased
to be one of the family, and did not, except by will,
take any share in his father's property ; on the other
hand, the wife introduced into the family by marriage,
or the stranger converted into a son by adoption,
l)ecame regularly recognised members of the family,
though no blood tie existed.

Marriage, again, in Kome, was symbolised by cap-
ture or purchase, as among so many of the lower races
at the present day. In fact, the idea of marri.age
among the lower races of men generally is essentially
of a different character from ours ; it is material, not
spiritual ; it is founded on force, not on love ; the wife

' See Ortolan's Justitiiaii, p. 120, et geq.

■ i|

^ I'm

■ ■'44

• '*4

- 1

100 DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF UELATWKSUIVS.

ril

is not united with, but enslaved to, her liusljand. Of
such a system, traces, and more than traces, still exist in
our own country : our customs, indeed, are more ad-
vanced, and wives enjoy a very different status in
reality, to that which they occupy in law. Among the
Hedskins, however, the wife is a mere servant to her
hushand, and there are cases on record in which hus-
band and wife, belonging originally to different tribes,
have lived together for years without either carin<»- to
acquire the other's language, satisfied to communicate
with one another entirely by signs.

It must, however, be observed that, though tlie
licdskin family is constituted in a manner very unlike
ours, still the nomenclature of relationsliii)s is founded
upon it, such as it is, and has no relation to the tribal
system, as will presently be shown.

Mr. Morgan divides the systems of relationships into

two great classes, the descriptive and the classifieator\',

which he regards as radically distinct. The first, he

says (p. 12), 'which is that of the Aryan, Semitic, and

Uralian families, rejecting the classification of kindred,

except so far as it is in accordance with the numerical

system, describes collateral consanguinei, for the most

part, by an augmentation or combination of the

primary terms of relationship. These terms, which

are those for husband and wife, father and mother,

brother and sister, and son and daughter, to which

must be added, in such languages as possess them,

grandfather and grandmother, and grandson and

granddaughter, are thus restricted to the ])rimary

hey are here employed. All other
idary. Each relationship is thus

sense in which
terms are secoi

iide

Of
it in

ad-
\ in

tlic

her
hiis-
ibes,
|r to
icate

the
111 ike
nded
ribal

into
tory,
t, he
, and
dred,
jrical
niobt

the
v^hieh
)ther,
diich
;heni,

and
mary
other
made

■a

,'«!;

■■*«

F^i-^

■Pi

• > ■

; .'<

UNSHIPS.

llAWAIUJJ

Motlier'H brotlior

8on .

son's son, M.S.«
F.H. •
„ grauilHon

Fatlier's slstor

Parent male

Brother, E. or Y.f
( 'hiUl iimlo
(Miild male
Uraudchildmalo

Taront female

RISC'

Father

Brothoi
Child n
Cliild 11
Urondc

Mother

son .

son's son, M.S.
F.S. ,
„ grandson

Father's brother

„ son s son, M.S.

II II II •• f* ■ •
„ .1 11 grandson

Motlicr'ri sister

„ „ son 3 son, M.S.

PS..
II II i» " "•"' '

I grandson

Grandfather's brother .

„ sister

Brotlier's son, M.S.
„ II i'.s.
Sister's son, M.S.
F.S.
Brother's son's son
bister's son'si on

Brother, E. or Y. Brotlici
Cliilil ninlc I Child n

Chilli mnlo I Child n

Grandchild male ^ Grande

Parent female Father

TOSOAS

Uncle

Cousin
?
?
?

Cousin

Hun

Grande

Aunt

Father

Couiin

Brothc
Sou

Brother, E. or Y.
Child lunlo
Child iiinlo
Graiiili'hild nuilc

Parent male

Brother, E. or Y.
Child male
Child mule

Brothc* Y.
Child II
Child n
Grtuidc

Mother

Brothc<r Y.
Child 11
Child n

Grandchild male j randc

Grniidparcnt Grandf

nmlc
Griiiiilparent

female

Cliild male Child n

Child male Child n

Child male t'hlld ii

Child mnlo Child ii

Ciriuidfliild mnlo fJriiiidc

Onindohlld mule (iniinlc

Father

Brother
Sun
Hoy
(intndson

Motlier

Brother

Son

Uoy

Gnuidfather

Grandmother

Son

Ni'iiliPW

Ni'iihew

Uoy

Grandson

(irandson

I Gnndc

I Uncle

I Brothe
I Son

I Grand(

Aunt

I Brothe

i Sou

Orandt

Grandf

Ci randi

Son

(irniidc

Gniiidc

Mule .-iiicaklng or fcniule siicaking.

id (.'uiinre.'ic sulistniitially agrt

[ONSHIPS.

'IIEIIOKKK

llAUK

.\i -itlier's brothel

son .
son's son

Father's sister

■le

! ;d

M.S.* . ndchlld
jr'^* julcliUd

dan'.'htoi-s soil, M S-ii'l^'j';';'}

grandson . " . " .Ji-lch"'!

son ; ". '. .'!"''■

son's son M.S. . . '«'

.. I'.S. . .I'"""

ilar.ghtcr's son, M.S.I'Pr

., F.S. for

Mother's brotl

( 'ousiii

Son

(irandson

Aunt

Cousin
{ Son

Son

Son
I Son

CLASSIFICATION OF SYSTEMS.

101

A 'V,.

' independent and distinct from every other. P>nt the
'.second — wliich is that of the Turanian, American
' Indian, and Mahiyan families, rejectin'X descriptive
' phrases in every instance, and rediicinj^ consan«^uinei
'to great chisses by a series of a})parently arbitrary
'generalisations, applies the same terms to all the
' members of the same class. It thus confounds re-
' lationships, which, under the descriptive system, are
'distinct, and enlarges the signification both of the
' i)rimary and secondary terms beyond then* seemingly
' approi)riate sense.'

While, however, I fully admit the immense difler-
ence between, say, our English system and that of the
Kingsmill Islanders, as shown in Table 1.^ opposite, they
seem to me to be rather the extremes of a series than
founded on different ideals.

Mr. Morgan admits that systems of relationships
have undergone a gradual development, following that
of the social condition ; but he also attributes to them
great value in the determination of ethnological aflfini-
ties. I am not sure that I exactly understand his
views as to the precise bearing of these two conclu-
sions in relation to one another; and I have elsewhere''^
given my reasons for dissenting from his interpretation
of the facts in reference to social relations. I shall,
therefore, now confine myself to the question of the
bearing of systems of relationships on questions of
tbhnological affinity, and to a consideration of the
manner in which the various systems have arisen.

' I have constructed this table in a manner wbicli .-cenis to me

from Mr. Morgan's schedules, select- more instructive than that adopted

ing the relationships which are the by Mr. Morgan,
most significant, and arranging them "^ Jour. Anthr. Inst. vol. i.

:::"H =

,;«J

Taiuj: I.— systems or K'KLATI*

llAW.MHV

KlNOHMIIX

Twn.MdCNT.M.S
IlliXjl ll|^

MiCMAfrt

Ul'llMMtK

J.M'A.NKfK

.Sti'oii'l little

liilliir
Itiolher, E.or Y.
Ni-jilii-w

lirunilsoii

WvvMii/rj

Unelt!

CoiihIu
Son

'' I'pilCW

(iruiiil^utl

T.\MII

Fkkjkkw

Mollicr's lirotlicr .
„ „ HUH .

„ „ hiiirn will, >r.s.«

!••>*.•

., ., „ jfrttiiil-oii

riireiit miilo

Urotlior, K.orY.t

child liialii
ChiM mult'
liraiuicbilil nmlo

FalliiT

Ilri.iln:'. K.orY.
ciiilil nmlo
Chilli iiialo
(jnaulcbilil nialu

Uncle

Urotlic-r, E. or Y.

Son

(iraiitlHon

Undo

Uroilior, K. or V.

Son

.St'phcw

(Jranilchiltl

I'atlit'i-, (I. or l,.t

III' iiiii'lt-
ItiiiihtT, E. or Y.
Niphi'.v
't
UiaiiilchiUl

Until'

Cousin
Nfpli ".v
Still •!
(iraiiiUoll

Uiiolo

('•iQ«ln

Nephew

Si.||«l

Oiaiulsiiii

I'uUar'h sisUr

Tarcnt fomiilc

Motlitr

Motla-r

Aunt

.Aunt, (J. or L.

Liltli- iiiother, or

iiiiiit
liiothii', E.or Y.
XejihfW
V
Cnilhlsiill

Aunt

„ „ sou .

„ ,, 3<m's Hon, M.S.

!• It 1) l'.>^- .

„ ,. ^'rIln■l*lM

nrcthor, K. or Y.
(Miilil iiiiih'
ChiM mall-
ei ruiulchlM niiilt'

Iirotlii'i-, E. or Y.
( hiM r:,ulo
(hill mall-
Gr.iii'kliiUI male

Prolher, E. or Y.

Son

.S)n

(iraliilson

lin.thur, E.or Y.
Son

.Ni'jilit'W
(jriiiiilchilil

lirotlitr, E. or V.
NiplifW
?
(IruiidchiM

Cousin
.Son
Son
(iraiiilHoii

CtiiiHin

Nephew

Son

linilulBIHI

Coiwln

Nephew

Son

(Iramlsoii

I'utlicr'rt brotliur .

rart'iit female

I'atlar

I'atlier

Littli' father

l-'athi-r, (i, oi Li.

Litth' fatlier. or

Father

Kathir, (i. or 1..

Father

„ „ •"in

,, „ Mill's RCIII, .M.S.

K.^'. .

,. ., .. gruudMiii

Urothcr. K. or Y.

ChiM iii.'ilo
ChiM iii:ili>
(iraiuU'lilM inaK'

lirothtT, K. t)ry.
ChiM iialo
Chill mule
(iraiiikhild mule

Dnitber, E. or V.

.Son

Son

(iniinlsoii

Iiitithcr, E. or Y.

.Son

Ni'ph-'W

(IraiiilebiU

lirothi'i', E. or Y.
Nepht'W
'1
(iraiulchilil

I'.ioilnT, E.or Y.
Nephiw
•i
(iraihlsoi)

liroihir, E. or Y.

Son

(il'lllld80ll

Brothel', E. or t

Hon

Nephew

UraiiiiHim

Urntlicr, E. o
.Son

.Niphew
Orumltion

Mot!it'r'.< si.strr

„ soil .
., „ SDn's HUH, M.H.

K..S. .

., ,. „ KnimlHon

I'arcnt iimlo

ItrotliiT, E. or Y.
Chilli mall'
Chilli niiilr
Oi-aniK-liiM inalo

Motliir Mi.ther

llritthi -, E. t.r Y. Ilrotbir, K. or Y.
ciiiM 1 lale Sun

( hli 1 Mall- Sun

(jraiitliliiltl male Uruuilson

Liitlt'inoiiier

llrotlier, E. or Y.

Son

Ni'pht'w

Uramlchilil

Motlur, CJ. or I..

Itrothcr, E. <ir Y
Nephew

tirniiilsoii

I.iillt' mother, or

aunt
Ilriit'iir, E. or V.
Nephew
'i
(iraiiilsiin

Mother

llrixhrr, E. or Y.
Son

Ni phiW

U riiiulson

Mother
llrtithir, v.. or Y.

Soil

Niphcw
i; 1 auiUoii

Mother

llMlher. E. o
S.ili

Ni-ph'W
(irunild'iii

Oruitlfuthcr's brother .

Oriiiiilpari'iit

Graiullallicr

(inindfatlicr

(irumlfathor

(JramlfaihtT

(iraiitUalhtr

(Irainlfalher

(irnnilfather

(iriiiidfiither

„ sistrr

(lniihl|>ari'iit

ft'iiiiilo
( lilM male
ChiM mah'
ChiM malt'
ChiM mall'
(IraiiilrhiM liinh'
tirallilrhilil mall'

Oraniluiotlicr

(iraiulniothcr

GramlUiothcr

Uniiulniuther

(iranilmothcr

(liiiii'liiiiiihir

(iraii'lmothei

Briitliur's Hon, .M..S. . I
I'.S. . ;

.sisiiT'8 son, ^^.s. . . 1

.. ,. K..S. . .
IJrutlnr's Sim's sou . . ;
Si-tcr's sun's; on

Chilli imlo
chlM male
(hiM iiale
ChiM nah-
(iniii'lthilil male
Cniii'U liiM mah'

Sou

.S<m

N«'|ilicw

Son

Urati'lsiin

(iran<lsiiii

.Son

Nephi'W

Nephew

Son

(inimlcbitil

(iraiiilt-hilil

Noplit'w

Nephi-w

Nepliew

Nt-phew

(iraiuii-hilil

(iriuiilchiltl

Nrphi'W

Ni'lilicw

Nriihcw

NiphrW

lirnnlsiiii

Ural id .sun

.Son

Nejiliew

Niphew

Son

Oramlson

Granilsun

Son

Nt'lihi-W

Nephew

Son

(iramlsoii

(irantlMin

.Son

.Nephew

Ni-phev

S-.ii

(Innidsoii

(iramlson

Male s|«akiii{,' or female siio:ikiiit,'.

t Eltlcr or Younger.

} ti rent or Little.

5 The s. iiii'a sulistniitiuHy mrrei's,

,! Thi' Ti lugu III

Tablk II.— systems of UELATJ

;»

7
Ukimih.kan

Uki) Kmvi.h

MfSSEK

Mic.M.vrs

1)KL.\W.M(1-:

L'liOW

I'.VW.SEK

•jII.VND r.^WM;i.

Mother's

lirotbir ....

riii-io

Unelo

I'licle

I'liele

EMer brother

1 nelo

Uncle

son ,

Urothcr, E. or V.

llrolher, E.or V.

lirother, E, or V.

Steplirnth, r

Son

(hiM

ChiM

Sun's -nil. .M.S.

Son

Stepbroth !•

liran-lchiM

(iniiulson

(IrMuileliilil

I'.s.

Sou

Sun

Nephew

Stepbrothir

(iramlehiM

( i ramlson

(iraiiih'hiM

ilailL- liter's son, M s.

Son

Ncpluw

Nephew

CninilehiM

lirunilsoii

(Inmilcliihl

.. F.s

Siin

Son

IJniii.li'hild

Cninilsiin

(Iraiulehilil

tfiaiiclsoii .

Son

(iramli'liiM

(iraiulehilil

(iraiulehlM

(inuKlehild

Ni'[ihew

(JninilehiM

Fatliers

sur

.\uiit

Aiinl

-Vuiit

Littlt- mother

.Mother

Mother

sou ....

Brother. E.or Y.

Hriithi r. K. or Y.

Uiiither, E. or V.

Sti-pbiollier

lather

Father

F.'itlur

, son's son M.S, .

Son

Brollier

Father

I'.s. .

Son

Nejihew

Son

Drothir

Father

,, iiai.^:hii-r'~ son. M.s.

.Son

Nipla'W

Nephew

Father

iirother

••

.. F.>.

.-^Oll

Son

Sou

.-on

Father

Hrolhtr

Une

Chil

(in

(ira

( ; la

( I ra

;\UI1

F.itl
Fat!
Full
latl
latl

[Tu flier i>injv IHI.

MS OF JtKLATlONSIIll'S.

Tauii.

I'KKJKKW

r Y.

r r.

l/'nfli'

Ni'pli.'W
Soil •(
(>l'Utl(lll(l||

Aunt

( 'oils! II
Nl'|)Iil'W
Son
(Iniiulgoii

Kathi r, (i, or I..

Brotlur, E. or V

Soil

Ni'lilicw

Cli'aiiil.iDii

.Mother

llrotliir, K. or Y.

Sill)

Ni plit w [

(iratiiUoii ;

(Iriindfiitlicr

(iiiiiiiliiiiillar

Son

N(|i1m'W

Nr|ihcw
Son

(iriiiiilson
liriui<l»>ii

Undo

( I'liiiin

\l'|>IH'\V

S..M«I

(iiaiulsiiii

Aunt

CiMiHln
Ni'|i|ifW
Smi
Oriindson

Fatlior

T'lNfJAX

rnde

CuUKill

?
?

Aunt

CoUfill

?
?

rutiii't

Bnitlicr, E. or V. Ilnitliur

Son >•>»

\i |plii'W li'iy

(iratnlgun ilr.iinlgon

Mother

Mntl.d'

llrotJicr, E. i.r Y. Iin.tlior

> III

Neph' w
(iraiitl*)!!

finiiidffithor

l!i'aii'liniitlii'r

Son

NepllOW

Nephew
S^n

(Iriiulsoii
(Irainlson

hon
boy

12
K/KI III

(iraiiilfatlicr
(jraiiilmotlior
I Son

Ne|ihew
I NephOiV

I lluy

I (llMlllsdll

(iranilai'n

Undo

Coiwla
Hon

Grondcbl!'!

Futbor

Urothor, I", or
Sou

limmlthiM

Undo

Urother, E. or
Son

?
lirnmUhil'l

Aunt

Ttrotlic;, v.. or
Sun

CirandchiM

(inimlfatlier

limmliiiotlier

Son

Sin

(inimh liiM

(iiaiulclillil

l.<
Mi'lll'. \N

Uihk'
stnpliroiher

Stc|.e|,||.|
Step, .liiil
(irill|i|Mn|l

Steimiother

~ti plirnther
^lepflliil.l

Stipeliild

<irauUcliil<l

Stepfather

sicpfiiilier
Slepohilil

(Irnmkhilil

Mother

Itrother. E. 'H- Y.

St..|)c|,il,|
Mepeliild
(iraiulehil'l

(iraiuirather

(irainlniuther

Stepson

Sli'p^on

Nipliew

Son

'.raii.l.'liild

• irundi'liild

Ulielo

llrotlior
NephiW

V
i.i rundMon

Aunt

Brother
Ni'pht'w

(IramUon

Undo

Urothor
Nephew
V

(irnndsun

Annt

lirotlier
Ni'phew

?
lirandsoii

(imndfathcr

Orandinutlier

Nephew
[ Nephew

Nephiw
j Nepli(!W
, (iiaii<l>nn

(iiiiiidson

(IIIIIWA (Take
Michi^'aii)

(Tnelo

t'oiisin Conxln

step-on hl( pKoll
Nephew I Neplu'W

(iian-lfhild Diaudehild

Aunt I Aunt

Coiishi ( ottsin

Stepson stepson

Nephew Ni'phew

(irimdcliild Gniiiddiild

Stciifrtther Ptcpfntlier

Brot'ipr, E. or Y. Stephrotlicr

Steprton SK'psoll

Nephew Nephew

(iranJdiild (iriindchilil

Stepmother

Hrother, E. or Y. Stfpbrotlier

Stepson Stepson

Nephew Nejilu'W

(irundchild ; Oraiidehlld

Oraiidfather

(irandniother

Stejison
! Nephew
' Nephew
I Stepson
i (iraii'lehild
I (Jralidihild
I

Undo

('oiikIii
Nepliew

?
OrundHon

Aiuit

( 'onsin
Nephew

Qrandson

Unelo

Cousin
Nephew

Grandson

Aunt

Coiisin

Nephew
Nephew
lirandsoii

Ornndfatlier
(irandraothcr

Stepson

Nephew

Ste|i8on

Uraiidehild

Ciraiiiloliild

I Ekijuimaix
(NiirthiinilM'rland
K.MlKN Inlet)

Uncle

( nuxln
Nephew

N.'pheW
• irauduhild

Aunt

('(itVl.l
NopheW
Nephew
iiranddilld

Unole

Coufiin
Nephew
Nephew
1 1 randuhild

Aitnt

j Cousin

Nephew
Nephew
(Iralideliild

Cirandfather ( ; ramlfather
Qranilmothcr i (Imndmother

Nephew

(Irandson

(iratidsoii

Neplu w

Nepliew

Nejihew

Nephew

(inindehild

(irandohild

The TeUign and I'aoarese snlixtantially iigrn- wilu ihe Tan.il.

*\ Ivi'-rhtifii Aioeriean raoe-- u).'ree with the Tamil nml Keejecan on this point.

EMS OF KELATIONSHIPS.

;iMj;I.IlA.\

0.ill;\VA

I'VWMCK

'in AND rAWNCI

< HKIiOKl:K

JiAli

fJ.MAlIA

SaWK AM)

Fi)X

OSKIDA

OlAWA

(I.uki' Superior)

fnele

Clielo

Mother's

irotl

■r I'llelo

I'liele

Clieln

Cnele

( liil'l

Child

Cousin

Cnele

Undo

Cousin

( oiisiii

Cousin

idson

(Jn.iiilrhild

(in.Bdehild

Son

Cli.'le

Cnele

Son

Stepson

sti pson

idson

• iraiidcl i|.l

(Iraiideliild

Clli-le

Cii.'le

Sr.li

Nephew

idsoii

<ll'Mlld>'liild

'iraiiileliild

Son

Ihtiiher. E. or

ISroth'T. v..

Ni j.hew

Nephew

idson

CraiKlriiiid

• iiiindeliil,!

Son

Ihotlii r. i;. 1)1-

lirutlier, K.

Son

Ste|«hild

lew

(iiandehild

tiniiidchild

(irandson

Ciu-le

1 iiele

lirandsoii

(iiandehild

(iraiideliild

ler

Mother

Aunt

Annt

Aunt

A nnt

Mother

Aunt

ler

Kilt her

Father

Consin

Neiilieu

Neplu'W

( oiisin

( oii'-in

Consin

her

rather

Fatlier

Bon

Ci-iiiid.hild

(1 raliileliilcl

Sou

St< psoii

St(p>on

her

h'atlier

Father

Son

llraiidciiild

(iiiindeliild

Son

Nepli w

Nephew

I'r

Mrotl er

I'atlier

Son

(Iniiideliild

1 iiandehild

Ni pliew

Nephew

Nepliew

I'.i-otl.r

I'ather 1

Son

Craiidcliild

(iraiideliild

Son

Stepehild

r-.'*j

f: ^

'! .'■'

1 "'"

; .

! ^

i; 1

„''^;'

( • ••

■r

102

NATURi: OF Tin: kvidksce.

As ini^^ht nntiirally liavc ])Con cxpocto*!, Mr. Morgan's
infbnn.'itlon is most full and comjjlcto witli rcftTcnce to
the Xortli Aincricnn Indiiins. Of tlicsc, lio \(\\qs the
terms for no less tluiii 2(i<S reliitlonsliips ir, ubout seventy
(liU'erent tribes. Of these relationships, some are, for
our present j)urposes, nnieh more important than others.
The most siu;nilieant arc the following : —

1. Brother's son an<l daiii^hter.

2. Sister's son and dan_L;'hter.
.'i Mother's brother.

I. Motlier's 1)rother's son.

."). Father's sister.

(). Father's sister's son.

7. Father's brother.

S. Father's brother s son.

!). Mother's sister.

10. Mother's sister's son.

11. Grandfather's brother.

12. Brothers' and sisters' m-andehildren.

Now let nie call attention to the Wyandot system as
shown in colinnn S of Table I. It will be observed
that a mother's brother is called an uncle ; his son a
cousin ; his grandson a son when a male is speakin<^, a
nephew when a female is speaking' ; liis o-reat-i^andson
a <(randson. A father's sister is termed an aunt ; her
son a cousin ; her grandson a son ; her great-gi*andson
a grandson. A father's brother is a father ; his son a
brother, distinguished, liowever, by different terms, ac-
cording as he is older or younger than the speaker ; his
grandson a son ; liis great-grandson a grandson. A
mother's sister is a mother ; ^ her son is a brother, dis-

* In Madagascar * lirst cousius are usually termed brother and

ADDh'I'JfSSISG I'l'JIiSOXS UY h'l'ILATldSSHirS. 103

tiii«fniKlic(l as l)c'forc ; lu»r ^niinlson u hoii wlu'ii a male
is sjH'akin«(, a nephew when a female is s|K'akin«(. A
jrraiHlfathtT'.s brother is a yfrandfather ; and a ^rand-
lather's sister is a ^grandmother. A brother's son is a
son when a male is spcakin^^, but a nephew when a
femah; is speakin;^^ ; while a sister's son is a nephew
when a female is speakin<j^, but a son when a female is
speakln«^^ Lastly, brothers' grandchihlren, and sisters'
grandchildren, are called H;randehildren.

This system, at first, strikes one as illo<^ical and in-
consistent. How can a person have more than one
mother? How can a brother's son be a son, or an
uncle's great-iiTandson a p^randson ? Ai^ain, while
classin<( together several relationships which we justly
s('|)arate, it di^tin<(uishes between elder and youn«(er
brothers and sisters ; and in several eases the relaticju-
ship de])cnds on the sex of the speaker. Since, however,
a similar system prevails over a very wide area, it cannot
be dismissed as i mere arbitrary or accidental arranjic-
ment. The system is, moreover, far from beinf? merely
theoretical, in every-day use. Every member of the tribe
knows his exact relationship to each other, accor<lin^' to
this system ; and this krowledoe is kei)t up by the habit,
general among the American tribes, and occurring also
elsewhere — as, for instance, among the Ksijuimaux, the
Tamils, Telugus, Chinese, Japanese, Feejeeans, Oiic. — of
addressing a person, not by his name, but by his rela-

* sister, and uncles and aunts fatlH>r * rclationsliip. These seconilarv fa-
' and motlier respectively ; and it is ' titers and mothers seem often to be
' only by asking distinctly of jK'r.sons 'regarded with little lesfl afl't'ction
'whether they are " of one father " 'than the actual parents.' — Sibree'a
' or are " uterine brother and sister," Madagascar and its People, p. 102.

* that we learu the exact degree of

M 2

iV'- ■ kil

1 "it*

■;:!

.i^ 'f

104

amiLAiaTim oi>' .si>TAMf

tioiisliip. Aiiioii;:^ the Tcluj^iiHaTHl TmnilM nil older tuny
juldnss a yoim^tT hy iiuiiu', but a y<)iin«::('r must always
UKi' till' ti'nu lor r('lati()ijslii|) in spcakiii^^ to an elder.
TliLs eii.stom is, pn)l)al)ly, connectcMl witli the curiouH
Huperstitions about names ; but, however it nuiy have
arls(.'n, the result is that an Indian addresses his nci^^h-
))our as ' my father,' 'my son,' or 'my brother,' as the
ease may be : if not related, he says, ' my friend.'

Thus the system is ke|)t up by daily use ; nor is
it a men; mode of e.\|)ression. Althou;4'h, in many
respeets, opposed to the existin«^ customs and ideas, it
is, in some, entirely consonant with them : thus, amon<^
many of the Iiedskhi tribes, if a num marries the ehlest
girl in a family, he can claim in nujrria«^e all the
others as they successively come to maturity; this
custom exists amon^^ the Shyennes, Omahas, lowas,
Kaws, < )sa<i^es, Hlaekfeet, Crees, ^linnitarees, Crows,
and other tribes. I have already mentioned that amon*,^
the iJedskins, generally, the mother's brother exercises
a more than paternal authority over his sister's chihlren.
1 shall have occasion to nfer again to this remarkable
exaggeration of avuncular authority.

Mr. ^lorgan was much surprised to find that a sys-
tem more or less like that of the Wyandots was very
ireneral among the Redskins of North America ; but he
was still more astonished to find that the Tamil races of
India have one almost identical. A comparison of
columns 8 and 9 in Table I. will show that this is
the case, and the similarity is even more striking in
Mr. Morgan's tables, where a larger number of relation-
ships is given.

Ho\v, then, did this system arise ? How is it to be

AMosa rui: unviiii uachs.

li;:,

ftccoiintcd for ? It is l>y no imaiis cnnsonniit, in all
respects, U. the present soelnl conditions of tiie races in
question ; nor does if ayree witii tril»al allinifies. riic
American Iinlians nreiierally follow the ciiston» of exo-
j^mny, as it has been called by Mr. M'licnnan, that
in to say, no on(! is pennittctl to marry within tlie clan ;
and, as descent HTf^'s in the female line, a man's brother's
son, thoufji'h called his son, belon;(s to a different clan ;
while his sister's sou does belong:; to the clan, thoiiji'h he
is regarded as a nephew, an<l consecpicntly as less
closely connected. Hence, a man's nephew belonLTs
to his clan, but his sou belongs to a dilferent clan.

Mr. Morgan discusses, at some length,' the conclu-
sions to be drawn from the wideexten>ion of this system
over the American contineiit, and its presence also in
India. ' The several hypotheses,' he says, ' of accidental
'concurrent invention, of borrowing frojii each other,
'and of spontaneous growth, are entirely inade(puite.' ^
With reference to the hypothesis of independent develop-
ment in disconnected areas, he observes that it pos-
' sesses both idausibility and force.' It has, therefore,
he adds, ' been nuide a subject of not Ic careful study
' and reflection than the system itself. Not until after
'a patient analysis and comparison of its several forms
' upon the extended scale in which tliey are given in
'the tables, and not until after a carefid consideration
'of the functions of the system, as a domestic institu-
*tion, and of the evidence of its mode of propagation
'from age to age, did these doubts finally give way, and
' the insufficiency of this hypothesis to account for the

' See, for instance, pp. 157, y*J2, y94, 421, 400, etc.
'^ Loc. cit. p. 495.

f^-

.f/r;...

* t.h

.» 'i.

■■•." %\

1G6

REDSKIN AND TAMIL RACES.

III '•;- I.

* origin of the system many times over, or even a second

* time, became fully apparent.'

And again, ' if the two families — i.e. the Redskin

* and the Tamil — commenced on separate continents in
*a state of promiscuous intercourse, having such a

* system of consanguinity as this state would beget, of

* the character of which no concei)tion can be formed,

* it would be little less than a miracle if both should

* develop the same system of relationsliip.' ^ He con-
cludes, then, that it must be due to ' transmission with
' the blood from a common original source. If the four
' hypotheses named cover and exhaust the subject, and

* the first three are incapable of explaining the present
'existence of the system in the two families, then

* the fourth and last, if capable of accounting for its

* transmission, becomes transformed into an established

* conclusion.' ^

That there is any near alliance between the Redskin
and Tamil races would be an ethnological conclusion of
great importance. It does not, however, seem to me to
be borne out by the evidence. The Feejeean system,
with which the Tongan is almost identical, is very
instructive in this respect, and scarcely seems to have
received from Mr. Morgan the consideration which it
merits. Now, columns 9, 10, and 11 of Table I. show
that the Feejeean and Tongan systems are identical
with the Tamil.^ If, then, tliis sunilarity is, in the case
of the Tamil, proof of close ethnological affinity between
tliat race and the Redskins, it must equally be so in

' Loc. cit. p. 505. Australia the system appears to Lo

' Ibid. See also p. 407. very similar.

' 111 some parts, at any rate, of

MALAYAN^i—FEEJEKAKS.

1G7

reference to the Feejeeans and the Ton<rans. It is,
however, well known that these races belonjif to very
distinct divisions of mankind, and any facts ^ hich prove
similarity between these races, however interesting and
important they may he as proofs of identity in human
character and history, can ol)viously have no bearing
on special ethnological affinities. jMoreover, it seems
clear, as I shall attempt presently to show, that the
Tongans have not used their present system ever since
their ancestors first landed on the Pacific Islands, but
that it has subsequently developed itself from a far
ruder system, which is still in existence in many of the
surrounding islands.

I may also observe that the Two-Mountain Iroquois,
whose close ethnological affinity with the Wyandots no
one will question, actually agree, as shown by columns 3
and 4 of Table I., more nearly with this ruder Pacific,
or, as jMorgan calls it, ' Malayan ' system, than they do
with that of the neiuhbourino- American tribes.

For tlies3 and other reasons, 1 think it impossible
to adopt Mr. Morgan's views, either on the causes which
have led to the existence of the Tamil system, or as to
the ethnological conclusions which follow^ from it.

How, then, have these systems arisen, and how can
we account for sucn remarkable similarities l)etween races
so distinct, and so distant, as the Wyandots, Tamils,
Feejeeans, and Tongans ? In illustration of my views
on this subject, I have constructed the preceding table
(Table L), in which I have given the translation of the
native words, and, following Morgan, when one word is
used for several relationships, have transhited it by the
simplest. Thus, in Feejeean, the word ' Tamanngu ' —

■iv
' 11

' r'

;;'JTV|

'.'♦

W,f .i

it:

■'■■■■■■?. •

168

NOMENCLATURE OF RELATIONSHIPS.

literally * Tama my/ the suffix *nngu,' meaning ' my '
— is applied, not only to a father, but to a father's
brother ; hence, as the father is the more important, we
say that they call a father's brother a father.

In many cases the origins of the terms for relation-
ships are undeterminable ; I shall discuss some in a sub-
sequent chapter. Others, however, have so far withstood
the wear and tear of daily use as to be still traceable.

Thus, in Polish, the word for my great-uncle is,
literally, ' my cold grandfather ; ' the word for ' wife '
among the Crees is ' part of myself ; ' that for husband,
among the Choctas, is ' he who leads me ; ' a daughter-
in-law among the Delawares is called ' Nah-hum,'
literally, ' my cook ; ' for which ungracious expression,
however, they make amends by their word for husband
or wife, ' Wee-chaa-oke,' which is, literally, ' my aid
' through life.'

It might, a priori, be supposed that the nomencla-
ture of relationships would be greatly affected by the
question of male or female descent. This, however,
does not appear to be the case. Under a system of
female descent, combined with exogamy, a man must
marry out of his tribe ; and, as his children belong to
their mother's tribe, it follows that a man's children do
not belong to his tribe. On the other hand, a woman's
children, whomsoever she may marry, belong to her
tribe. Hence, while neither a man's nor his brother's
children belong to the same tribe as himself, his sister's
children must do so, and are, in consequence, often
regarded as his heirs. In fact, for all practical purposes,
among many of the Itcdskin and other tribes, a man's
sister's sons are resrarded as his children.

vario

i ji J

NOMENCLATURE OF RELATIONSHIPS.

1G9

As we have already seen, this remarkable cust'~n
prevails, not only among the Redskins, but also in
various other parts of the world. As regards the
native tribes of North America, it may also be laid
down as a general proposition that the mother's bro-
ther exercises more authority over his sister's children
than does their father. He has a recognised right to
any property they may acquire, if he choose to
exercise it ; he can give orders which a true father
would not venture to issue ; he arranges the marriages
of his nieces, and is entitled to share in the price paid
for them. The same custom prevails even among the
semi-civilised races ; for instance, among the Choctas the
uncle, not the father, sends a boy to school.

Yet among these very tribes a man's sister's son is
called his nephew, while his brother's son is called his
son.

Thus, althougli a man's mother's brother is called
an uncle, he has, in reality, more power and responsi-
bility than the true father. The true father is classed
with the father's brother and the mother's sister ; but
the mother's brother stands by himself, and, although
he is called an uncle, he exercises the real parental
power, and on him rests the parental responsibility. In
fact, while the names of relationships follow the mar-
riage customs, the ideas are guided by the tribal
organisation. Hence we see that not only do the ideas
of the several relationships, among the lower races of
men, differ from ours ; but the idea of relationship, as
a whole, is, so to say, embryonic, and subsidiary to that
of the tribe.

In fact, the idea of relationship, like that of mar-

■It

':W W

V'i

fell:

lir

'-'i

.i- » i

1'" *

:;-^;i

..^?.r

; 'U

-.'U-^^V

■■^^

■K

■ih

I.:'

:f: J.

i r

17U

THE HAWAIIAN SYSTEM.

riage, was foundad, not upon duty, but upon power.
Only with the gradual elevation of the race has the
latter been subordinated to the former.

1 have endeavoured to illustrate the various sys-
tems of relationship by Table I. (opposite p. 101),
which begins with the Hawaiian, or Sandwich Island
system.

The Hawaiian language is rich in terms for relation-
ships. A grandparent is ' Kupuna,' a j)arcnt is ' Makua,'
a child ' Kaikee,' a son-in-law, or daughter-in-law, is
' Ilunona,' a grandchild ' Moopuna ; ' brothers in the
plural are ' Hoahanau ; ' a brother-in-law, or sister-
in-law, is addressed as ' Kaikoeke ; ' there are special
words for brother and sister accordino; to asre and sex ;
th.us, a boy speaking of an elder brother, and a girl
speaking of an elder sister, use the term ' Kai-kuuana ; '
a boy speaking of a younger brother, or a girl of a
younger sister, uses the word ' Kaikaina ; ' a boy speak-
ing of a sister calls her Kaikuwahiue, while a sister calls
a brother, whether older or younger, ' Kai-kuaana.'
They also recognise some relationshi})s for which we
have no special terms ; thus, an adopted son is ' Hunai ; '
the parents of a son-in-law, or daughter-in-law, are
' Puliena ; ' a man addresses his brother-in-law, and a
woman her sister-in-law, as ' Punaloa ; ' lastly, the word
■* Kolai ' has no corresponding term in English.

It will be observed that these relationslii})s are con-
ceived in a manner entirely unlike ours ; we make no
difference between an elder brother and a younger
brother, nor does the term used depend on the sex ol
the speaker. The contrast between the two systems is,
however, much more striking when we come to con-

If ill
ifcl

THE 1[AWAIJAN SYSTEM.

171

sider tlie deficiencies of the Hawaiian system, as indi-
cated in the nomenclature. Thus, there is no word for
cousin, none for uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, son or
daui^hter ; nay, while there is a word indicating parent,
there is said to be none for father or even for mother.

The principal features of this interesting system,
so elaborate, yet so rude, are indicated in the second
column of Table I. I have already mentioned that
there is no word for father or mother ; for the latter
they say ' parent female,' for the former, ' parent male ; '
but the term ' parent male ' is not confined to the true
parent, but is applied equally to the father's brother
and mother's brother ; while the term ' parent female '
denotes also father's sister and mother's sister. Thus,
uncleships and auntships are ignored, and a child may
have several fathers and several mothers. In the suc-
ceeding generation, as a man calls his brother's and
sister's children his children, so do they regard him
as their father. Again, as a mother's brother and a
father's brother are termed ' parents male,' a mother's
sister rend father's sister, 'parents female,' their sons are
regarded as brothers, and their daughters as sisters.
Lastly, a man calls the children of these constructive
brothers and sisters, equally with those of true brothers
and sisters, his children ; and their children, his grand-
children.

The term ' parent male,' then, denoted not only a
man's father,

but also liis father's brother

and mother's brother ;

while the term ' parent female ' in the same way
denotes not only a man's mother.

;: .if: :i

■ ■'"r'Vi

■V *i \ ■■ • '■■„ > (O

172

THE HAWAIIAN SYSTEM.

i-i

t^ •

but also his mother's sister

and father's sister.

There are, in fact, six classes of parents : three on the
male side, and three on the female.

The term, my elder brother, or younger brother, as
the case may be,^ stands also for my

Mother's brother's son,

Mother's sister's son.

Father's brother's son,

Father's sister's son,
while their children, again, are all my grandchildren.
Here there is a succession of generations, but no
family. We find here no true fathers and mothers,
uncles or aunts, nephews or nieces, but onl}^

Grandparents,

Parents,

Brothers and sisters.

Children, and

Grandchildren.
This nomenclature is actually in use, and, so far from
having become obsolete, being in Feejee combined with
inheritance through females, and the custom ^^ im-
mediate inheritance, gives a nephew the right to take
his mother's brother's property : a right which is
frequently exercised, and never questioned, although
apparently moderated by custom. It will very likely
be said, that though the word ' son,' for instance, is used
to include many who are really not sons, it by no

' Among the Australians, near for brother and sister always iuvoh o

Sydney, * brothers and sisters speak the distinction of elder or younger.'

of one another by titles that indicate — Ridley, Journ. Anthr. Inst. vol.

relative age ; that is, their words xxvi. p. 26G.

"fp

THE UAWAIIAN SYSTEM.

173

means follows that a man should regard himself as
equally related to all his so-called ' sons.' And this
is true, but not in the manner which might have been
// priori expected. For, as many among the lower races
of men have the system of inheritance through females,
it follows that they consider their sister's children to be
in reality more nearly related to them, not only than
their brother's children, but even than their very own
cliildren. Hence we see that these terms, son, father,
mother, &c., which to us imply relationship, have not
strictly, in all cases, this significance, but rather imply
the relative position in the tribe.

Additional evidence of this is afforded by the re-
strictions on marriage which follow the tribe, and not
tlie terms. Thus the customs of a tribe may, and con-
stantly do, forbid marriage with one set of constructive
sisters or brothers, but not with another.

The system shown in column 2 is not apparently
confined to the Sandwich Islands, but occurs also in
other islands of the Pacific. Thus, the Kingsmill
system, as shown in column 3, is essentially similar,
though they have made one step in advance, having
devised words for father and mother. Still, however,
the same term is applied to a father's brother and a
mother's brother as to a father ; and to a father's sister
and a mother's sister as to a mother : consequently,
first cousins are still called brothers and sisters, and
their children and grandchildren are called children
and grandchildren.

The habits of the South Sea Islanders, the entire
absence of privacy in their houses, their objection to
sociable meals, and other points in their mode of life.

t^l

i -a
I 'I

^}'k.:

vjii

: ;

ft''

:-''^m

17 1

AMERICAN bYSTEMS.

I '

Iiavc i)r<)l)al)ly favoured tlie survival of a very rudo
system, though tlie nomenclature is not in aceordancc
with tlicir present social and family relations, but in-
dicates a time when these were less developed than at
present. We know as yet no other ])art of the world
where the nomenclature of relationships is so primitive.
Yet a near approach is made by the system of the
Two-Moiintain Iroquois, which is, perhaps, the lowest
yet observed in America. In this tribe a brother's
children are still regarded as sons, ar d a woman calls
her sister's children her sons ; a man, however, does
not regard his sister's children as his children, but dis-
tinguishes them by a special term ; they become his
nephews. This distinction between relationships,, Avhich
Ave regard as identical, has its basis in, and is in accord-
ance with, American marriage customs. Unfortunately
I have no means of ascertaining whether these rules
prevail among the tribes in question, but they are so
general among the Indians of North America that in all
probability it is the case. One of these customs is that
if a man marries a girl who has younger sisters, he
thereby acquires a right to those younger sisters as
they successively arrive at maturity.^ This right is
widely recognised, and frequently acted upon. The
first wife makes no objection, for the work which fell
heavily on her is divided with another, and it is easy to
see that, when polygamy prevails, it would be uncom-
plimentary to refuse a wife who legally belonged to you.
Hence a woman regards her sister's sons as her sons ;
they may be, in tact, the sons of her husband : any
other hypothesis is uncomplimentary to the sister.

* Arcbaeol. Amer. vol. ii. p. 109.

A MEIiWA N SYSTEMS.

i;5

i?:

|}.'I

'riirou^^hout the North American races, thiTcfore, we
shall find that a woman calls her sister's children her
children ; in no case does she term them nephews or
nieces, though in some few tribes she distinguishes
tlit'in from her own children by calling them step-
children.

Another general rule in America, as elsewhere, is
that no one may marry within his own clan or family.
It has been shown in the previous chapter that this rule
is not only general in North America, but widely preva-
lent elsewhere. The result is, that as a woman and her
l)"otlier oelong to one family, her husband must be
c losen from another. Hence while a man's father's
brother and sister belong to his clan, and his mother's
.sister, being one of his father's wives, is a member of
the family — one of the fire-circle, if I may so say — the
mother's brother is necessarily neither a member of the
fire-circle nor even of the clan. Hence, while a father's
sister and mother's sister are called mother, and a
father's brother father, in most of the Redskin tribes
the marriage rules exclude the mother's brother, who
is accordingly distinguished by a special term, and in
fact is recognised as uncle. Thus we can understand
how it is that of the six classes of parents mentioned
above, the mother's brother is the first to be distin-
guished from the rest by a special name. It will, how-
ever, be seen by the table that among the Two- Mountain
Iroquois a mother's brother's son is called brother, his
grandson son, and so on. This shows that he also was
once called 'father,' as in Polynesia, for in no other man-
ner can such a system of nomenclature be accounted
for. All the other relationships, as given in the table,

■.''•■i4ii

170

THE MICMAO tiYSTKM.

are, 1^ will be Hccn, identical with those recognised in
the Hawaiian and Kin^sniill .system. Thus, in two re-
spects only, and two, moreover, which can be satisfac-
torily explained by their marriage regulations, do the
Two-Mountain Iro((uois differ from the l^icific system.
It is true that these two points of difference involve
some Others not shown in the table. Thus, while a
woman's father's sister's daughter's son is her son, a
man's father's sister's daughter's son is his nephew,
because his father's sister's daughter is his sister, and
his sister's son, as already explained, is his nephew. It
should also be added that the Two- Mountain Iroquois
show an advance, as compared with the Hawaiian
system, in the terms relating to relationships by nuu*-
riage.

The Micmac system, as shown in column 5, is in
three points an advance on that of fhe Two- Mountain
Iroquois. Not only does a man call hk sister's son his
nephew, but a woman applies the sarae term to her
brother's son. Thus, men term their brother's sons
' sons,' and their sister's sons ' nephews ; ' while women,
on the contrary, call their brother's sons ' nephews,'
and their sister's sons ' sons ; ' obviously because there
was a time when, though brothers and sisters could not
nrarry, brothers might have their wives in conrmon,
while sisters, as we know, habitually married the same
man. It is remarkable also that a father's brother and
a mother's sister are also distinguished from the true
father and mother. In this respect the Micmac system
is superior to that prevailing in most other Redskin
races. For the same reason, not only is a mother's
brother termed an uncle, but the father's sister is no

riiH Miryr.n' sYs'n:}r.

177

Iniiocr cmIIccI a iiiotluT, Ik'Hih' (li>liiiLiui.s|MM| Wy a .spccljil
tcnii, mid lliiis Im'coimcs an aiiiit. Tlu' social ljal)it> of
tlic! Itcdskins, which have ah'cady hccM hrirlly aUiidcd
to, siitH(!iciitly cxphiin wliy the father's sister is thus
(nstiiii»nisli(!d. whih; the fatlier's hrother and iiiotlier'.s
sister are still called respectively father and iiioiher.
Moreover, as \vv found ainonijf tlu; Two-Mountain Iro-
(juois that althon;;h the mother's hrother is recoMiiised
as an nncle, his son is still calKMl hi-other. thus pointini^
hack to a time v/hen the father's hrothei* was still called
lather : so here we see tliat thoMu*h the father's sister is
callcfl aunt, lier son is still n^^'arded as a hrother ;
iiulicatinu: tlie existence of a time when, amouii' the Mic-
mjics, as amouL,^ the Two-Moinitain Iroquois, a father's
sister was termc'd a mother. It follows as a conse(juence
that, as a father's hrother's son, a mother's hrother's
s(»n, a fatlier's sister's son, and a niothei-'s sister's son,
are considered to be brothers, their children are terme(l
sous by the males ; ])ut as a woman calls her brother's
son a nephew, so she applies the same term to the sons
of the so-called lu'others.

]f the system of relationshi)) ))e subject to gradual
^u;rowth, and approach step by step towards perlection, we
should naturally expect that, from differences of habits
and customs, the vari(Mis advances would not auioni;*
iill races follow one another in precisely the same order.
Of this the ^licmacs and \\ yandots atlord ns an illus-
tration. While the latter have, on the whole. n;;ide
most progress, the former are in adv;uice on one jioint ;
for thoujrli the Miemacs have distiniiuished a ftither's
brotlie:* from a father, he is among the Wyandots still
termed a father ; on the other hand, the \\ ytiudots call

■I *

■ ^,

>'fk

D '

i. I

.-■t .

, d

17H

iwiiMEsi: AXh J.i/M.v&'.s/'; systnms.

II iiiutlu'r'H hrotlicr's son ii coiifslu, wliilt; aiiioii;«- tiiL' Mic-
iniics he is still tt'niicd a hrotlicr.

Ilcri! wt' iiiiiy coMvt'iiiciitiy coiisiilcr two Asiatic
iiatiniis — lilt' I'mii'iiicsc and tlic .lapaiu'sc — wliicli, tliMiiMJi
oil (lie wiiolc cMMisiilci'aiily niont advaiKtcd in civilisation
than any of tlit; lorc^^oiiin- races, yet appear to he sin;;ii-
larly Wackvvanl in tlieir systems of family nomenclalnre.
I will commenc(! with the ihirmesc. A mother's hrotluu'
is called either father (;;'reat or little) or uncle ; his son
is regarded as a hr(»ther ; his «;ran<lson aw a ni phew ;
Iiis <(rcat-«jfrandson a^ a •grandson, A father's sister is
an annt ; hut her son in a hrothcr, her grandson is a
Hon, and her ;;'reat-^randHon a jLi'randson. A father's
l)rother is still a father (••reat or little) ; his son is a
Imjthur ; his i;randson a nephew ; antl his ^ireat-^rand-
Hon a «;rand><>n. A mother's sister is a mother (^'reat
or little) ; her son is a hn»ther ; her ^randM)n a uephew ;
and her j;reat-;;i'andson a ^'rands(»n. (Jrandfathcrs'
brothers and sisters are i^nnnlfathers and j^randniothcrs.
Brothers' and sisters' sons and dau«'iitcrs are reco^^nised
as nephews and nieces, whether the speaker is a male or
feniale ; hut their children a<^ain are still classed as
grandchiUlreii,

Amoni»' the Japanese a mother's brother is called a
' second little father ; ' a father's sister a ' little mother '
or ' aunt ; * a lather's brother a ' little father ' or ' uncle ; '
and a mother's sister a ' little mother ' or ' aunt.' The
other relationships shown in the table are the same
as among the Biu'mese.

The Wyandots, descendants of the ancient llurons,
are illustrated in the eighth column. Their system is
somewhat more advanced than that of the Micmacs.

Till': wvAMxrv sYsriiM.

170

AVliilc, Jiinon;^' the latter, a iiiotlicr's hrntlicr's xm, "ml
a failu'r's nistor's son, nn- calii'd UrotluTH, amniiHf tliu
\Vyau<lots tla'y aiv r('C(i;;iiis('«I as cniisins. Tlic cliililrcii
of llicsc ('(Hi.siiis, Imwi'vrr, wiv. .still liy iiiiilo r.illiMl sons,
llius n'miiidiii;:; iis tlial lluti'c was ;i tiiiic wlirii tiicso
cotisiii.s wi'iv still rcujii'flcil a.> hrnUicrs. A sccojiil
mark of pro^ri'ss is, that wnnu'ii regard tlu-ir iiiotlur's
brutliur'H grandsons as lu'plicws, an<l not as sons, tlion^^h
tliL' <^reat-grandsoiis (>!' umdiis and amit'» Juv still, in all
cast's, termed <;randson«.

1 crave partiewlar attention to this system, which
may lie regarded as the typical system of the lledskins,^
althongh, as we have seen, some trihes have a ruder
nomenclature, and we shall presently allude to others
which are rather mure advanced. A mother's brother
is termed uncle ; his son is a cousin ; h|s grainlson is
termed nephew when a woman is speaking, son in the
case of a male. In either case, his grandson is termed
irrandson. A father's sister is an aunt, and her won a
cousin ; but her grandson ami great-grand.son are
termed, respectively, son and grandson, thus reminding
us that there was a time when a father's siater was re,
garded as a mother. A father's brother is called father ;
his sou, brt)tlier ; his grandson, son ; mid his great-
grandson, grandson.

A mother's sister is a mother, her son is a brother,
her grandson is called nephew by a female, son by a
male ; her great-grandson is, in either casi', called

' The I'eruviaii system apjMMrd, Leon very similar, in some of its

fnuii iho vocabularies given iu most csstMitial fuaturus, to lluit of

Mr. Olumenls Markham'8 (iuichua the Wyuudots.
Oraiuinar and Dictionary, to have

TT^

VBJI

1
1

. 1

i
<

if- ml

..•n

J^St .

>• I ' .

^ r ■ i^

jT^;

natmii,-

180

THE TAMIL AND FEEJERAN SYSTEM.

■ ; it

..■P

A-

.) ■

"• ^"s 1

f- .

ffraiKlsoM. A uniiKlt'jitlicr's hrotluT and sister arc c.illeil
ji^raii(llatlu;r and iirandmollicr ivspuctivt'ly.

A brother's son is called son by ii iiialt', and nephew
by a female, while a sister's son is called nej)hew by a
male, and son by a female, the reasons for which have
been ali'eady explained.

Lastly, brothers' son's sons ami daughters, sisters'
son's sons and dani>hters, are all called grandsons and
granddaughters. 'JMius we see that in every case the
third n'encration returns to the direct line.

The two following columns re[)resent the Tamil and
Fcejeean system, Avith which also that of the Tonga
Islands very closely agrees. I have already called at-
tention to this, and given my reasons for being unable
to adopt the explanation suggested by ]Mr. ^lorgan.

It will be observed that the only <lilferences shown
in the table between the system of lluse races and that
of the Wyundots, juv, firstly, that the mother's brother's
grandson is regarded among the A\'yandots as a nephew
by males, and as Ji son by females ; while in the Tamil
and I'eejeean system the reverse is said to be the case,
and he is termed .son by males, and nephcAV by females.
Secondly, that the fatlier's sister's grandson is regarded
as a son among the AVyandots, Avhile in the Tamil and
Fcejeean system he is, Avhen an imcle is s})eaking,
recognised as a nephew. The latter difference merely
indicates that the Tamil and Feejeean systems are
slightly more advanced than the AVyandot. The other
difference is more difficult to understand.

But though the Redskin, Tamil, and Feejeean sys-
tems, differing as they do from ours in many Avays,
Avhich at first seem altogether arbitrary and unac-

liEMAUKABLE TEiaiS IX USE.

181

i:1

countaLlo, ai;;rce so reinarkal)ly with one anotlier, Ave
find, also, in some cases, reniarkal)le differences amon^'
tlie licdskin races tlieniselves. These differences aif'ect
principally the lines of the mother's brother and father's
sister. This is natural. They are the first to l)e dis-
tinj^uishcd from true parents, and new means liave,
therefore, to be adopted to distinguish the relationships
thus recoj^nised. In several cases other old terms were
tried, with very comical results. These mod s of over-
coming the difficulty were so nnsatisfactory, that, by
the time a father's sister's son was recognised as a
cousin, the necessity for the creation of new terms
seems to have been generally felt.

Table 11. shows, as regards fourteen tril)es, the re-
sult of the attem]>t to distinguish these relationshi[)s.
Taking, for instance, the line which gives the terms
in use for a mother's brother's grandson, we find the
following, viz. son, stepbrother, grandson, and grand-
child, stepson, and nncle ; in the case of a father's
sister's grandson (male spejiking), we have grandchild,
son, stepson, brother, and father ; when a female is
speaking, grandchild, son, nephew, brother, and father.
Thus, for this single relationship we find six termi* in
use, and a difference of three generations, viz. from
grandfather to son. At first the use of such terms
seems altogether arbitrary, but a further examination
will show that this is by no means the case.

Colunni 2 gives the system of the Kedknives, one of
the most backward tribes on the American continent as
regards their nomenclature of relationships. Here,
though a mother's brother and a father's sister are,
respectively, uncle and aunt, their children are regarded

rf W !

,!l

'^ifi^

!. !•;■

'V:^

I. -

>'U

II r-^r.4|

■y^

182

EXriAXATTON OF THE TERMS.

jii

': 1 5

I *i

fts bi*ot]iers, their grnndoliildron ns sons, and tlioir
great-grandcliildron as f^randsons. Tlio Miinsco s)^'^toln
shows a slight advance. TIere, though the women call
their sister's sons their sons, the males, on the contrary,
term them nephews, and, consequently, ap])ly the same
term to their Inother's brother's danghter's son, and
their father's sister's daughter's son ; because, as in the
preceding case, mother's brother's danghters, and father's
sister's daughters, are termed sisters. The IMicmacs
(column 8) show another step in advance. Here, not
only does a man call his sistei^'s son nc[)hew, ])ut, in ad-
dition, a woman a})plies the same term to her 1,rother'8
son ; consequently, not only a mother's l)rother's
daughter's son, if a male is speaking, but a mother's
brother's son's son, if a female is speaking, and the
corres[)onding relations, on tlie side of the father's
sister, are teiMned nephews.

Among the Delawares a mother s brother's son, and
father's sister's son, are distinguished from true brothers
by a term corresponding to ' ste})brother.' They appear
to have also felt the necessity of distinguishing a step-
brother's son from a true son ; but, having no special
term, they retain the same word, thus calling a step-
brother's son a stepbrother. This principle, as we shall
see, is followed by several other tribes, and has produced
the most strikiui** inconsistencies shown in the table.
We find it again among the Crows, where a father's
sister is called mother, her daughter again, mother ; but
as her son cannot of course be a mother, he is called
* father.' The same system is followed by the Pawnees,
as shown in columns 7 and 8 ; and the Grand Pawnees
carry it a generation lower, and call their father's

SYSTEM OF THE OMAHAS.

183

sister's grandson on the male side ' father ; ' a fatlier's
sister's dangliter's son is, liowever, calU'd a brotlier.
Among the Cherokees we find this principle most
thoroughly carried out, and a father's sister's grandson
is also called a father. This case is the more interestinii',
because the circumstance which ])roduced the system is
no longer in existence ; for, as will he seen, a father's
sister is called an aunt. It is not at iirst obvious that
a father's sister being called a mother would account
for her son being called a father ; but, with the Crow
and Pawnee systems before us, we see that the Chero-
kees could not call their father's sister's sons ' fathers,'
unless there had been a time when a father's sister was
re2:arded as a mother.

The Hare Indians supply us with a case in which
mother's brothers and father's sisters beinjj distin-
guished from fathers and mothers, their children are no
longer termed brothers, but are distinguished as cousins ;
while their grandchildren and great-grandcliildren, on
the contrary, are still termed sons and grandsons.

So far as the relationships shown in the table are
concerned, the system of the Omahas, and of the Sawks
and Foxes, is identical. A mother's brother is an
uncle, and, for the reason already pointed out in the
case of the Delawares, his sons and son's sons, and even
son's jifrandsons, arc also termed ji^randsons. 11 is
daughter's sons, on the contrary, retain the old name
of brother. A father's sister is an aunt, her children
are nei)hews, and the descendants of these nephews are
grandchildren.

Among the Oneidas, a father's brother is an uncle,
and his son is a cousin ; his son's sons, however, are

I, r

ImH.

-r,

184

SYSTEM OF THK OS EI DAS. OTAWAS.

J: '■

\'M

still sons. His djuiglitcr's son is a son, when a female is
speaking ; but, for tlie reason already explained in the
case of the Munsees, males term them ne})hews. The
relationships comiected with a father's sister are dealt
with in a similar maniu!r, exce})t that a father's sister is
still called mother.

The Otawa system resembles the Micmac, and is
formed on the same plan, being, however, somewhat
more advanced, inasnnich ;is the children of uncles and
annts are recognised as cousins, and a man calls his
cousin's son, not his son, but his ste])son. The ()ji])wa
system is the same, except that a woman also calls her
mother's brother's daughter's son, and father's sister's
daughter's son, her stepson, instead of her son. In
some of the reljitiouslii})s by marriage the same causes
have led to even more striking differences. Thus, a
woman wnerally calls her father's sister's daughter's
husband her brother-in-law ; but among the Missouri
and Mississippi nations her son-in-law ; aniong the
Minnitarces, the Crows, nnd some of the Chocta clans,
her father ; among the Cherokees, her stepparent ; the
Republican Pawnees, and some of the Choctas, her
grandfather ; and among the Tukuthes, her grandson !

Having thus pointed out the curious results to
which some of the lower races have been led in their
attem])ts to distinguish relationshi[)s, and endeavoured
to exphiin those shown in Table H., I will now return
to the nijiin argument.

The KafHr (Amazulu) system is given in colunni
12, Table I. Here, for the first time, we find the
father's Ijrother regarded as an uncle, and the mother's
sister as an aunt. In other respects, fliowever, the

THE KAFFIR SYSTEM.

185

system is not more advaiicctl than the Tamil, Feejcejin,
or Wyandot. Tlie motlier's lu'othcr is called uncle ; ^
his son, cousin ; his i»Tands()n, son ; and liis «;'reat-«;Tand-
son, f^randchikl. A father's sister, quaintly enough, is
called father, the KafHr word for which, iihtiha, closely
resembles ours. His son, however, is called brotlier ;
his grandson, accordingly, son ; his great-grandson,
grandchild. A father's brother, as already mentioned,
is uncle ; but, as before, his son is called brother ; his
grandson, son ; and his great-grandson, grandson. So,
also, a mother's sister is an aunt, but her son is a
brother ; her grandson, a son ; and her great-grahdson,
a grandson. As in all the preceding cases, grand-
fathers' brothers and sisters are considered as, re-
spectively, grandfathers and grandmothers, lirothers'
sons and sisters' sons are called sons, and, lastly, their
sons ao-ain are ^'randsons.

Excepting in the case of nei)hews, this system,
therefore, closely resembles the Tamil, Fecjeean, and
Wyandot ; the other principal differences being a more
correct nomenclature of uncles and aimts.

Colunm 13, Table I., exhibits the nomenclature
in use amoni>' the ^lohegans, whose name siouiHes ' sea-
side people,' from their geographical position on the
Hudson and the Connecticut. They belong to the
great Algonkin stock. Here, for the lirst time, a dis-
tinction is introduced between a father and a i'nther's
brother. The latter, however, is not recognised as an
uncle ; that is to say, a father'^ brother and a mother's
brother are not regarded as ecpiivalent relationships.

'.V';

!..:>i

' It is, however, sigiiliioant that lie calls liis sister's suns ' soiih,' and
not nephews.

.. ?•

1 1

IRG

MOTTFGANS. CJtEES. CnirPEWAS.

but tlie former is termed stepfatlier. Tliis distiiif^nisli-
infj; ]>refix is tlie (3liaracteristic feature ; and, as will be
seen, we finrl the terms stepmother, stepbrother, and
ptepcliild (to tbe exclusion of cousin), as natural con-
sequences of the stepfathership. Still, the mother's
sister remains a mother, and her son a l)rotlier ; and the
derivation of this system from one similar to those
already considered is, moreover, indicated by the fact
that tbe members of the third generation are still
refrarded as grandchildren.

The Crees and Ojibwas, or Cbippewas (of Lake
Michigan), who also belong to the great Algonkin
stock, resemble the ]\Iohegan in the use, thoiigli with
some minor differences, of the prefix ' step-', a device
which occurs also in a more complicated form among
the Chinese. In some points, however, they are rather
more advanced, and, in fact, these tribes possess the
highest system of relationship yet recorded among the
Redskins of North America. A mother's brother is an
uncle, and bis son is a cousin ; as regards his grandson,
the tendency to the use of different terms, according as
tbe speaker is a male or female, shows itself in the use
by the former of tbe term stepson, where the latter say
nephew as in some of the ruder tribes. In botb cases,
mothers' brothers' c;reat-oTandchildren are called errand-
children. A father s sister is an aunt, and the nomen-
clature with reference to her descendants is the same as
in tbe case of the mother's brother. A father's brother
is a stepbrother ; his son is still called a brother by males
among the Crees, but is called stepson by the Ojibwas ;
the other relationships in this line being the same
as in the case of the mother's brother and father's sister.

i . }' ^

•• ■ •!,

SUMMAT^Y OF 17FDSKTX SYSTEMS.

187

No rJedskin rounrds liis inotlior's sister ns ati nulit ;
l)iit tlio Croos and <)ji])wns distin<rnisli lior from a true
niotlior l)y tlie term stepmother, and lier descendants
are .addressed 1)y tlie same terms as tlione of the fjither'n
hrotlier. Tlie ^grandfather's brotliers and sisters are
called (grandfathers and grandmothers. As before,
brothers' sons, when a female is speaking, and sisters'
sons, wlien a male is apeakinir, are callcnl nephews ;
while brothers' sons, when a male is speaking, and
sisters' sons, when a female is speaking, are no longer
regarded as trne sons, but are distingui«»hed as stepsons.
The grandchildren of tiiese nephews and stepsons arc,
however, all termed grandchihh'en.

If, now, we compare this system M'ith that of the
Two- Mountain Iroquois, we find that out of twenty-
eight relationships given in the table, only ten have
remained the same. Of these, two are indicative of
progress made by the Two-jMountain Iroquois — namely,
the term for mother's brother and sister's son ; the other
eight are marks of imperfection still remaining in the
Ojibwa nomenclature : points, moreover, not ])y any
means characteristic of American races, but common,
also, as we have seen, to the Hawaiian. Kingsmill,
l^nrmese, Japanese, Tongnn, Feejeean, Kaffir, and
Tamil systems ; as we shall also find, to the Hindi,
Karen, and Esquimaux ; in fact, to altiiost all, if not all,
barbarous peoples, and even to some of the more advanced
races.

Column 14, Table T., shows the system of nomen-
clature as it exists in Hindi, and it may be added that
the licngali, ]\larathi, and Gujerathi are essentially the
same, although the words differ. All these languages

It '

j . t.jnt.S

188

HINDOO SYSTEMS.

> 1

'l':

are said to be Sanskrit as roffards their words ; abori-
fi^iual, on the contrary, in tlielr nraniniar. Hindi contains
00% of Sanskrit words, Gujeratbi as mncli as !)')'/«.
With tln*ee orfonr exceptions, it appears that the terms
for relationsliip may l)e all of Sanskrit origin.

Here, for tlie first time, we find that a brotlier's son
and a sister's son are termed nephews, whetlier the
speaker is a male or a female. Yet nephews' children
are still termed grandchildren. Again, for the first
time, the mother's brother, fathei*'s brother, mother's
sister, and father's sister are regarded as equivalent,
and the terms for their descendants are similar. The
two former — i.e. mother's brother and father's brother,
are termed ' nncles ; ' the two latter — i.e. mother's sister
and father's sister, arc called aunts. Yet, as regards
the next generations, the system is less advanced than
the Ojibwa, for uncles' sons, and aunts' sons are termed
brothers ; their grandsons, nephews ; and their great-
grandsons, grandsons. It should, however, be observed
that, in the first three languages, viz. the Hindi, I'cn-
gali, and Marathi, besides the simple term ' brother,'
the terms ' brother through paternal uncle,' ' brother
through i)aternal aunt,' ' brother through maternal
uncle,' and ' brother throuuh maternal aunt,' are also in
use, and are less cumbersome than our English literal
translation would indicate. The system, therel'ore, is
transitional on this point. Lastly, a grand fiither's
brother is called ' grandfather ; ' a grandfather's sister,

' grandmother.'

The Ilarens are a rude, but peaceful and teachable
race, inhabiting parts of Tenasserim, Burmah, Siam,
and extending into the southern parts of China. They

A'. I R i:XS. i:sQir[MA fix.

I8i>

liavo ])Gcn on 'rt);ii;ln;>l iipDii jutl .siihjt; -h' 1 l»y more
powerful iMcos, anil art' now divided into dill'erent
tnl)es, sj)eakin!^ different dialects, of wliieli three are
♦"•iven in Mr. Moru'an's tables. Tlioii<''li rnde and
savau;e in their mode of life, tliey are (leseril)^d as
extremely moral in their social rehitions — praise wliieh
seems to be corrol)orated by their system of relati<»ii-
ships, as shown in column 17, Table I.

Colunm IS sliow.s the system of another rude
people, beloni^iui,^ to a distinct family of the human
race, and inhabitini^ a distant im I very different [)art of
the world. Like the Karens, the I'^scjuimaux are a
rude people, but, like them, they are a ((iiiet, peaceable,
and moral race. No doubt on some points their ideas
differ from ours ; their condition does not admit of much
refinement — of any jj^reat advance in science or art.
They cannot be said to have any relii^'ion worthy of the
name, yet there is, perhaps, no more moral people on the
face of the earth ; none amoni^ whom there is less crime ;
and it is, perhaps, not goin<^ too far to say that there is,
as far as I can juduv, no race of men which has more
fully availed itself of its ojjportunities.

It is most remarkable to find that these two races of
men. so distinct, so distant, so dissimilar in their modes
of life, without a word in connnon, yet usini;- systems
of relationship which, in their essential features, are
identical, although by no meiuis in harmony with the
existinix social condition : in both, uncles and aunts
are correctly recognised, and their children regarded
as cousins ; their grandchildren, however, are termed
nephews, and the children of these so-called nephews
are classed, as in all the previous cases, as grand-

.1.-

■■ t

!■ -1

lixt

jxiJicATKjxs or i'uu(,'tn:ss.

cliildi'L'ii. Tims, (iiit of the t\V('iily-(;i_L'lit ri'liilioiisliips
indicated iu tliu table;, tlie Karens and i']s(|niinaiix aiireo
wilh us iu twelve, and diller in sixtcien. As regards
f!Veiy one, liu\V(!Ver, of these; sixteen they aurec; with
one another, whiic! in ein'ht they i'ullow the same system
as every other race which we have hcon considerin;^'.

Tliese facts cannot Ins tliu result of chance ; there
is one way, and, as it seem.** to me, one way only, of
uccountiu;^ for theni, anil that is by re^ardiui;* them a>
the outcome of a prog'rcssive deveh)[)nicnt, such as
that which I have endeavoured to sketch. An examin-
ation of the several cases will, J. think, confirm this
view.

The Karen-Ks(juinuuix system is inconsistent with
itself in three res|)ccts, and ^jrecisely where it ditfers
from Ours. The children of cousins are termed nephews,
which they are not ; the children of nephews are re-
jt'arded as i>Tandchihlren, luid a <»rand lather's brothers
and sisters are termed, resj>ectively, <^randfathers and
j^ran Iniothers.

The tirst fact — namely, that a mother's brother's
ji'randsons, and a mother's sister' i»i grandsons, a father's
sister's grandsons, and a father's brother's grandsons,
are all termed ' nephews ' — clearly points to the existence
of a time when a mother's brother and a father's brother
were rcuarded as fathers, a mother's sister and a father's
sister as mothers, and their children, consecpicntly, as
brothers. The second — namely, that the great-grand-
children of uncles and aunts are regarded as grand-
children — similarly points to a time when nephews and
nieces were termed, and regarded as, sons and daughters,
and their children, consequently, as grandchildren.

I'Ml V

iX(joMr[,i':Ti:s'i:ss oi' s ystems.

i:»i

>!.>

Lastly, wliy should ;j;iMn'lfatli('rs' hrotlu'i's aiiil ^raivl
lathers' sisters he called •••raiidfathcrs and ••raiidtiiothers
uidess there was a time when lathers' brothers an<l sister.-
were resj)eetively callt!!! ' lathers ' and ' mothers :' nnli
th(! Karens and Ms(jniman\ once had a sysUim of \\
lationship similar to that which still prevails amonii^ .•
many barbarous tribes, and which, to all appearance,
has been ^^radnally niodilietl ? Hence, thon«;'h tlii>
Karens and Ksquimaux have now a I'ar niore correct
system of nomenchiturc than that of many other races,
we lind, even in this, clear traces of a time when these
peo[)le8 liad not advanced in this res[»L3ct beyond the
lowest sta;^e.

As already mentioned, the European nations follow,
almost without exception, a strictly descriptive system,
founded on the marriage of single pairs. The principle
is, however, departed from in few very rare cases, an<l
in them we lind an approach to the Karen- Es(|uimaux
system. Thus, in Spanish, a brother s great-grandson
is called ' grandson,' Again, in Bulgarian, a brother's
grandson and sister's grandson are called ' iMal vnook
mi,' literally ' little grandson niy.' A father's father's
sister is termed a grandmother, and a father's father's
brother a grandfather, as is also the case in Russian.
The French and Sanskrit, alone, so far as 1 know,
iunong the Aryan languages, have special words for
elder and younger brother. Among Aryan races the
Ivomans and the Germans alone developed a term for
cousin,^ and we, ourselves, have, even now, no word for
a cousin's son. The history of the term ' ne[)hew ' is

' So tliat of many nations it may bo said, literally as well as figura-
tively, that ' les iialiuus u'out pas de cousin j.'

•'.. 1

I •'.I

'''h

)''

i\('(>}frj. j:ri:s'i:ss or systhms.

jIso iiistniciivc. Tlic word ' ii('|K)s,' siiys I\Inr^iin,'
jiiiKUi"^ the IJoiiisius, as late as the loiirlli (•ciiimy, was
a|»i»H('<l to !i iM'plicw as well as ii ^iraiidhon, altlmiiiiii

holli

aviis

aiK

aviiiK'iiliis

ha. I

('(Uiu! into use.

I'jitr(t|mis, ill s|M'akiiiix <if < >('taviaMiis, calls liini tlic

ii('|»li<»w of Ca'sar, '• Ca'saris ncjx

»s.

>»

(Lil

). vii. ('. i.)

' SiictoiiiiiK H|K'aks of him art " sororls ncpos " (Ca'sar,
' ('. Ixxxiii. ).aiulafVrr\var<ls (Otjtavianiis.c. vii.) (Icscrihcs
M'a'Nar as liis ^rcat-iinclc, " luujor avimculiis," in
' whi<'h he ('oiitra(U(!ts himself. When "ncpos" was
' finally restricted to grandson, an<l thus hecame a
'strict correlative of " avus," the Latin lan'oniiic was
' without a term for ne[)he\v, whence the descriptive
' phi'ase, '' Fratris veil sororis filiiis." In KnL»lisli,
' " ne[)hew " Avas applied to ^"randson, as well as
'nephew, as late as 1<)11, the period of Kin^ -lames's
'translation of the llihle. Niece is soused hy Shak-
' speare in his will, in which he describes his «^rand-
' daughter, Susa!inah Hall, as " my '''^ce." '

So that even amonn' the most advanced races wc find
some lin,i;erinn" confusion about nej)hews, nieces, and

grandchihlren.

Thus, then, we luive traced these systems of relation-
shi})s from tin; simple and rude nomenclature of the
Sandwich Islanders up to the far j)urer and more correct
terminoloii'y of the Karens and Esfpiiniaux. 1 have
endeavoiuvd to show that the systems indicated arc
explicable ouly on the theory of a gradual improvemenf
and elevation, and are incompatible with degradation ;
that as the valves indicate the course of the blood in
lo the terms applied to relationshi[)S point
' Lvc. cit, p. 35.

our veins, so c

VMDiisri: nr rnnaui:ss.

\o:\

out tli(» course of past liistory. In tlic lirst [>l{ice, tlio
moral coiidifiotj ot' the lowia* race's, wlicrcviM* we can
ascertain it, Is actually lil^'lier tlian that indicaieil hy
the j>hrase(,'lo<;y in use ; and, secondly, the systems
lheinselv(;s arc, in almost all cases, Inexplicahle, e.\c<'[)t
on the hy[)othesis that they were themselves |»reee(led
hy still ruder ones.

Take, for instance, the case of tlu^ Two- Mountain
Iroquois : they call a mother's brother an uncle, hut hi.s
son they re<.nird as u brother. This is no accident, for
the idea is cjirried out in the other relntions]u[)s, and
occurH also in other races. On tlu; thecny of [►roi'resH
it is ens ly accounted for : if a father's brother was [)re-
viously (ailed a father, his son would, of course, be a
brother ; and when the father's brother came to be dis-
tin^'uished as an uncle, some time wo'dd, no doubt,
often elapse before the other changes, consecpient on
this step, would be effected. Jiut how could such a
system be accounted for on the opposite theory ? How
could ta father's brother's sou come to be regarded as a
brother, if a father's brother had .'dways been tinned
an uncle ? The sequence of terms for the relationships
connected with a father's sister, on the two hy[)otheses
of progress on the one hand, and degradation on the
other, may l)e illustrated as in the Table III. ([>. IDD).

In the first, or lowest stage, the secpience is mot Ik r,
brother, son, grandson, as in the Sandwich and Two-
i\Iountain Iro(|U()is system. In the next stage, the
mother's sister being recognised as an aiuit, and the
other relationships remaining the same, we have the
sequence, aunt, brother, son, grandson, as among the
Micmacs. When a brother's son becomes a nephew

' < '!

', . M

v.n

DKIHTING SYSTEMS INOOMPATLDLE

we have aunt, brother, nephew, grandson, as in the
Burmese, Japanese, and Hindi systems. In the next
stage, an aunt's son being distinguished as a cousin, we
have aunt, cousin, nephew, grandson, as among the
Tamils and Fecjees. The hist two stages wouhl be
aunt, cousin, aunt's grandson, grandson ; and, lastly,
aunt, cousin, aunt's grandson, aunt's great-grandson.
Thus, out of these six stages, five at least actually exist.

On the other hand, on the theory of retrogression,
we should connnence with the highest system : namely,
aunt, cousin, aunt's grandson, and aunt's great-grand-
son. The second stage would be, mother, cousin, aunt's
grandson, aunt's great-grandson. The third, mother,
brother, aunt's grandson, aunt's great-grandson. The
fourth, mother, brother, nephew, aunt's great-grandson.
The fifth, mother, brother, son, aunt's great-grandson.
And the last, mother, brother, son, grandson. Thus,
it will be observed that, except, of course, the first and
last, they have not a stage in common ; and, though
there may be some doubt whether the sequence sug-
gested on the second hypothesis is the one which would
be followed, it cannot be maintained that we could ever
have the systems which would occur in the case of pro-
gress as shown in Table III., and the first four of which
are actually in existence.

Whenever, then, the son or daughter of an uncle,
or aunt, is termed a brother, as in the case of seven of
the races referred to in the table, we may be sure that
there was once a time Avhen that uncle, or aunt, was
termed a father or mother ; whenever a cousin's son is
termed a son, as again in seven races, we must infer,
not only that those cousins were once regarded as

WITH THE THEORY OF DEGRADATION,

195

brothers, but that brothers' sons were once termed
sons. Again, when great-uncles and aunts are termed
grandfathers and grandmothers — when great-nephews
and nieces are termed grandchildren, as in the case
of all the races we have been considering — we have,
I submit, good reason to infer that those races must
once have had a system of nomenclature as rude as
that of the Hawaiians or Kingsmill Islanders.

But it may be asked : admitting that the seventeen
races, illustrated in Table I., are really advancing, are
there not cases of the contrary ? The answer is clear :
out of the 139 races whose systems of relationship are
more or less completely given by Mr. Morgan, there is
not one in which evidence of degradation is thus indi-
cated. To show this clearly and concisely, I have pre-
pared the following table (p. 196). It will be seen
that taking merely the relation of uncles and aunts witli
reference to their children, there are 207 cases indicating
progress. On the other hand, there are four cases, the
Cayuda, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawks, among
whom, while a father's sister is called a mother, her son
is called a cousin. These cases, however, are neutra-
lised by the fact that the sons of these cousins are
called sons. We have, therefore, a very large body (jf
evidence indicating progress, and collected among very
different races of men, while tliere appear to be none
which favour the opposite hypothesis.

In the preceding cha[)ter, I have endeavoured to
show that relationship is, at first, a matter, not of blood,
but of tribal organisation ; that it is, in the second
stage, traced through the mother j in the third, through
the father ; and that only in the fourth stage is the idea

-2

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196

EVIDENCE OF PROGRESS.

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197

of family constituted us amongst ourselves. To obtain
clear and correct ideas on this subject, it is necessary to
know the laws and customs of various races. Tlie
nomenclature alone, would, in many cases, lead us into
error, and, in fact, has oi'ten done so. When checked
by a knowledge of the tribal rules and customs, it is,
however, most interesting and instructive. Fnjiii this
point of view especially, Mr. Morgan's work is of gfcat
value. It has been seen, however, that I differ greatly
from him as to the conclusions to be drawn from the
facts which he has so diligently collected.

Of course, I do not deny that tliese facts may, in
some cases, indicate ethnological affinities ; but they
have not, 1 think, so great an importance in solving
questions of ethnological relationships as he su})poses.
I do not, however, in any way, undervalue their import-
ance ; they afford a striking evidence in favour of tlie
doctrine of development, and are thus a very interest-
ing and important contribution to the great problem of
human history.

From the materials which he has so laboriously
collected, and for which etluiologists owe him an im-
mense debt of gratitude, I have endeavoured to show :

Firstly, that the terms for, what we call, relation-
ships, are, among the lower races of men, mere ex-
pressions for the results of marriage customs, and do
not comprise the idea of relationship as we understand
it ; that, in fact, the connection of individuals inter sc,
their duties to one another, their rights, and the descent
of their i)roperty, are all regulated more by the rela-
tion to the tribe than by that to the family ; that when
the two conflict, the latter must give way.

^ mi

' ^^-

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198

CONCLUSION.

^■i

. ;.,

Secondly, tliat tlio nomenclature of relations] lips is,
in all tljc cases yet collected, explainable in a clear and
simpler manner on the hypothesis of progress.

'J'hirdly, that while two races in the same state of
social condition, but of which the one has risen from
the lowest known system, the other sunk from the
highest, would, necessarily, have a totally different
system of nomenclature for relationships, we have not
a single instance of such a system as would result from
the latter hypothesife.

Fourthly, that some of those races which approxi-
mate most nearly to our European system differ from
it upon points only explainable on the hypothesis that
they were once in a much lower social condition than
they are at present.

?;/

SYSTEMS OF UELATTOXSUir

190

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200

CHAPTER y

RELIGION.

( ;(

1111 E religion of savages, though of peculiar interest,
is in many respects, perhaps the most difficult
part of my Avhole subject. I shall endeavour to avoid,
as far as possible, anything which might justly give
pain to any of my readers. Many ideas, however,
which have been, or are, j)revalent on religious matters,
are so utterly opposed to our own that it is impossible
to discuss the subjecr without mentioning some things
which are very repugnant to our feelings. Yet, wliile
savages show us a melancholy spectacle of gross su[)er-
stitions and ferocious forms of worship, the religious
mind cannot but feel a peculiar satisfiiction in tracing
up the grachial evolution of more correct ideas and of
nobler creeds.

M. Arl)ronsset quotes the following touching re-
marks made to him by Sekesa, a very respectable
Kaffir : ^ ' Your tidings,' he said,' ' are what I want ;
' and I was seeking before I knew you, as you shall
'hear and judge for yourselves. Twelve years ago I
' went to feed my flocks. The weather was hazy. I sat
' down upon a rock and asked myself sorrowful ques-
' tions ; yes, sorrowful, because I was unable to answer

( a

i, .. ,

1 ':

Tour at the Cape of Good Hope, p. 120.

MENTAL INACTIVITY OF SAVAGES.

201

* tbeiri. " Who has toucliod the stars with liis hands ?
' '' On wliut pilhirs do they rest ? " I asked myself.
' " Tlie waters are never weary : they know no otlier
' " hiw than to flow, without ceasing, from morning till
'•'night, and from night till morning; but Avherc do
' " they stop ? and wlio makes them flow thus ? Tlie
' " clouds also come and go, and burst in Avater over
' '■ the earth. AVhence come they ? AVlio sends tliem ?
'" The diviners certainly do not give us rain, for liow
'"could they do it ? and wliy do J not see them with
' '• my own eyes Avlien they go up to heaven to fetch it ?
' "I cannot see the wind, but wliat is it ? Who brings
'"it, nuikes it blow, and roar and terrify us? Do I
'"know how the corn sprouts? Yesterday there was
'"not a blade in my field ; to-day I returned to the
"•field and found some. Who can have given to the
' " earth tlie wisdom imd the power to produce it ? "
' Then 1 buried my face in both my hands.'

This, however, \\as an excei)tiv)nal case. As a
general rule savages do not set themselves to think out
such question.-!', but adopt the ideas which suggest
tliemselves most naturally ; so that, as I shall attemi)t
to show, races in a siniihu' state of mental development,
liow';ver distinct their origin may be, and however
distant the regions they iuliabit, have very similar
religious conceptions. Most of those who have ei}-
deavoured to account for the various superstitions of
savage races have done so by crediting them with a
much more elaborate system of ideas than they in
reality possess. Thus Lafitau supposes that fire was
worshipped because it so well represents ' cette supreme
' intelligence degagee de la nature, dont la puissance est

»«'

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-i

■' M

.. 1*

202

IIEIJGIOUS (llAJiACTEJilSTlCS OF

■ II

; '^i

* toujours active' ^ A^ain, with reference to idols, lie
o})serves '■^ tlint ' La dependnnce que nous avons de
' rima«^i nation et dcs sens nc nous permettant i)as de
' voir Dieu autrenient qu'en enigme, comme parle Saint
' Paul, a cause une cspice de necessite de nous le
' montrer sous des images sensibles, lesquelles fussent
' autant de symboles, qui nous elevasscnt jusqu'a lui,
'comme le portrait nous remet dans rid<je de celui
' dont il est la peinture.' Plutarch, again, supposed
that the crocodile was worshijiped by Egypt because,
having no tongue, it was a type of the Deity who made
laws for nature by his mere will ! Explanations, how-
ever, such as these are radically wrong.

I have felt doubtful whether this chapter shoidd not
be entitled ' the superstitions ' rather than * the re-
' ligion ' of savages ; but have preferred the latter,
partly because many of the superstitious ideas pass
gradually into nobler conceptions, and partly from a
reluctance to condemn any honest belief, however
absurd and imperfect it may be. It must, however, be
admitted that religion, as understood by the lower
savage races, differs essentially from ours ; nay, it is
not only different, but even opposite. Thus, it is an
affair of this world, not of the next. Their deities are
evil, not good ; they may be forced into compliance
with the wishes of man ; they generally require bloody,
and often rejoice in human, sacrifices ; they are mor-
tal, not immortal ; a part, not the autnor, of nature ;
they are to be approached by dances rather than
by prayers ; and often approve what we call vice,
rather than what we esteem as virtue.

' Mceurs dee Sauvages Am^ricains, vol. i. p. 1C2. ^ Loc. cit., p. 121.

THE LOWER UACES OF MAS.

20.*{

21.

In fact, tlie so-cnllcd rclimon of the lower races
bears somewliat tlie same relation to religion in its
liii»licr forms that astroh)iry does to astronomy, or
alchemy to chemistry. Astronomy is derived from
astrology, yet their spirit is in entire opposition ; and
we shall find the same difference between the reli«!:ions
of backward and of advanced races. AVe ref^^ard the
Deity as good ; they look upon him as evil ; we submit
ourselves to him ; they endeavour to obtain the control
of him ; we feel the necessity of accounting for the
blessings by which we are surrounded ; they think the
blessings come of themselves, and attribute all evil to
the interference of malignant beinijs.

These characteristics are not exceptional and rare.
On the contrary, I shall attempt to show that, though
the religions of the lower races have received different
names, they agree in their general characteristics, and
are but phases of one sequence, having the same origin,
and passing through similar, if not identical, stages.
This will explain the great similarities winch occur in
the most distinct and distant races, which have puzzled
many ethnologists, and in some cases led them to
utterly untenable theories. Thus, even Robertson,
though in many respects he held very correct views as
to the religious condition of savages, remarks that Sun-
worship prevailed among the Natchez and the Persians,
and observes : ^ * This surprising coincidence in senti-
' ment between two nations in such different states of
' improvement is one of the many singular and unac-
' countable circumstances which occur in the history of
' human affairs.'

' History of A-merica, book iv. p. 127.

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204

IJIFFICVLTIES OF THE SUJ!JFCT

Although however, we find the most reinurkahle
coiiiculences between tlie religions of* distinct race«, one
of the i)eculiar diftieidties in the study of religion arises
from the fact that, while each nation has generally but
one language, we may almost say that in religious
matters, (jiiot lunnhirs tot scntmt'uv ; no two men having
exactly the same Mews, however much they may wisli

to agree.

Many travellers have })ointed out this difliculty.
Thus, Ca})tain Cook, speaking of the South Si-a
Islanders,^ says : ' Of the religion of these people we
' were not able to Jicquire any clear and consistent

* knowledge ; we found it like the religion of most other

* countries — involved in mystery and ])erplexed with

* apparent inconsistencies.' Many also of those to whom
we {u*e indebted for information on the subject, fully
expecting to find among savages ideas like oui* own,
obscured only by errors and superstition, have put
leading questions, and thus got misleading answers.
We constantly hear, for instance, of a Devil ; but, in
fact, no spiritual being in the mythology of any savage
races possesses the characteristics of Satan. Again, it is
often very difficult to determine in what sense an ob-
ject is worshipped. A mountain, or a river, for in-
stance, may be held sacred either as an actual Deity or
merely as his abode ; and in the same way a statue may
be actually worshipped as a god, or merely reverenced
as representing the Divinity.

To a great extent, moreover, these difficidties arise
from the fact that when man, either by natural progress
or the influence of a more advanced race, rises to the

' Ilawkeswovth's Voyages, vol. ii. p. 2G/'.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE LOW Fit i?

V.S. L>05

arise

conception of a liip^her religion, he still retains his old
beliefs, whieli long linger on, side hy side with, and yet
in utter opposition to, the higher erec'. The new and
more powerful Spirit is an addition to tiic old Pantheon,
and diminishes the importance of the older deities ;
gradually the worship of the hitter sinks in the social
scale, and becomes confined to the ignorant and the
young. Thus, a belief in witchcraft still flourishes
among our agricultural labourers and the lowest classes
in our great cities ; and the deities of our ancestors sur-
vive in the nursery tales of our children. Wc must
therefore expect to find in each race traces — nay, more
than traces — of lower religions. Even if this were not
the case, we shouhl still be met by the difficulty that
tliere are fcAV really sharp lines in religious systems.
It might be supposed that a belief in the imniortjility
of the soul, or in the efficacy of sacrifices, would give
us good lines of division ; but it is not so : these and
many other ideas rise gradually, and even often appear
at first in a form very different from that which they
ultunately assume.

Hitherto it has been nsual to classify religions
according to tlie nature of the object worshipped :
Feticliisui, for instance, being the worship of inanimate
objects, Sabteism that of the heavenly bodies. The true
test, however, seems to me to be the estimate in which
tlie Doity is held. The first groat stages in religious
thought may, I think, l)e regarded as —

Atheism ; understanding by this term not a denial of
the existence of a Deity, but an absence of any definite
ideas on the subject.

■■^i

"* 4

UUii UtlLiaiOSS AkJCOUUISG to SANCUOXIATIiO.

"v J

Ft'/ifhi.sm ; tlio ntiv/o. In vvliich iiian supposes lu; caii
force the deities to comply witli liis desires.

Naturc-ivor.s/ii/t or Tote nils nt ; in which natural
objects, trees, lakes, stones, animals, &c., are wor-
shipped.

Shamanism ; in which the superior d(!ities are far
more powerful than man, and of a different nature.
Their place of abode also is fu* away, v^nd accessible
only to Shamans.

Llolatrf/, or Anthropomorphism ; in which the j^ods
take still more com[)l(!tely the nature of men, bein;,^,
however, more powerful. They arc still amenable to
persuasion ; they are a i)iirt of nature, and not creators.
They are represented by ima^^es or idols.

In the next stage the Deity is regarded as the author,
not merely a part of nature. He becomes for the tirst
time a really supernatural being.

The last stage to which I will refer is that in which
morality is associated with religion.

Since the above Avas written, my attention was called
by De Brosse's ' Culte des Dieux fetiches' to a passage
in Sauchoniatho, quoted by Eusebius. From his descrip-
tion of the first thirteen generations of men I extract
the following passages : —

Generation 1. — The ' first men consecrated the
' plants shooting out of the earth, and judged tlieui
' gods, and worshipped them, upon whom they theui-
' selves lived.'

Gen. 2. — The secoml generation of men ' were calleil

* Genus and Genea, and dwelt in Phucnicia ; but when

* great droughts came, they stretched their hands up to

the

f ; ic

UI'JLiaiONS ACCOltUlSG TO SAXCllOS'lATUiK ii07

* lip.aven towards tlie Sun, tor liiiii tluy thought the t)iily

* Lord of Heaven.'

Gen. 8. — Afterwards other mortal issue vras he;;'()tten,
wliose names were IMios, l*ur, and IMilox {i.e. Liglit,
Fire, and Fhime). These; found out the way of gene-
rating fire by the rul)l)ing of pieees of wood against
eaeh other, and taught men the use thereof.

Oen, 4. — Tlie fourtli generation consists of giants.

Gm. 5. — With reference to the fifth he; mcintions
the existence of conununal marriage, and tliat Usous
'consecrated hno juUars to Fire and Wind, and howv-d
' down to them, and [xjured out to them the I>l(jod of
'such wiUl beasts as had l)een cauu;ht in liuntinix.'

Gm. G. — Hunting and fishing are invented ; wliich
seems rather inconsistent witli the precedhig state-
ment.

Gen. 7. — Chrysor, wliom he affirms to be Vulcan,
discovered iron and tlie art of fori^ini^. ' Wiierefore he
' also was worshipped after liis death for .'igod, and they
' called him Diamichius (or Zeus Michius).'

Gen. 8. — Pottery was discovered.

Gen. 9. — Xow comes Agrus, ' who had a mueh-
' worshipped statue, and a temple carried al)out by one
' or more yoke of oxen in Phtenieia.'

Gen. 10. — A'illages were formed, and men kept
flocks.

Gen. 11. — Salt was discovered.

Gm. 12. — Taautus or Hermes discovered letters.
The Cabiri beloni>: to tliis veneration.

Thus, then, we find mentioned in order the worsliip
of plants, heavenly bodies, pillars, and men ; later still
comes Idolatry coupled Avith Tem[)les. It will be

Vr- t

i "

■ ■••

f, ■

.-n

«i

■ M

■ ft-

; i

208 nELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE LOWEST RACES.

i (

}

observed that Siinchoniatlio makes no special mention
of Slianianism, and that lie regards tlie worship of
phmts as jil)()riginal.

Tlie opinion that religion is general and universal
has been entertained by many high authorities. Yet it
is ()p])osed to the evidence of numerous trustv;orthy
observers. Sailors, traders, and philosophers, l^oman
Catholic priests and Protestant missionaries, in ancient
and in modern tim?s, in every pait of the globe, have
ccmcurred in stating that there arc races of men alto-
ji^ethcr devoid of relif>ion. The case is the stronger
because in several instances the fact has greatly sur-
prised him who records it, and has been entirely in
o[)[)osition to all his preconceiv^ed views. On the other
hand, it must be confessed that in some cases travellers
denied the existence of religion merely because the
tenets wen; unlike ours. The (luestion as to the i>eueral
existen'^e of religion an oiig men is, indeed, to a great
extent a mat<^er of definition. If the uwav sensation of
fear, and the recognition tliat there are probably other
beii.gs more powerful than oneself, are sutHcient alone
to constitute a religion, then we must, I think, admit
that religion is general to the human race. Ihitwhen u
child dreads the darkness, and shrinks from a liahtless
room, we never regard that as an evidence of religion.
Moreover, if tliis deliuition be ado[)ted, we can no
longer regard religion as peculiar to man. AVe must
admit that the feeling of a dog or a liorse towards
its master is of the same character ; and the baying
of a dog to the moon is as nmcli an act of worship
as some ceremonies which hav^ been so described by
ti'avcllers.

- i

mist

AiJSExci': OF rfligion:

209

Even amoniy tlio hi<>liei' races we find tluit tlie words
HOW deuotiiiu;" s[)lritiial things l)etray in almost all, if
not all, cjises an earlier pliysieal ineiuiin«;'.

In ' Prehistoric Times,' ^ I have (jiioled the lollowin<^
writers as witnesses to the existence of tribes without
religion. For some of the Ks([iiimaiix triljes, Captain
Ivoss ; '^ for some of the ('nnadians, llearne ; for the Cali-
fornians, liaegert, who lived among them seventeen
years, and l^a Perouse ; for nwiny of the lirazilian
tribes, Spix and Martins, iiMtes and Wallace ; for Para-
guay, Dobrit/hotter ; for some of the Polynesians, Wil-
liams's Missionary Enterprises, the \ Oyage of the No vara,
and Dielfenbach ; for Damood Island (Xorth of Aus-
tralia), flukes (X'oyageof the Fly) ; for tiie Fellew
Islands, Wilson ; for the Aru Islands, Wallace ; lor the
Andamaners, ^[ouatt ; for certain tribes of Ilindostan,
Hooker ;nid Sliortt ; for some of the F;istei'n African
nations, liurton and Grant ; for the l>achaj>in KalHrs.
JiurchcU ; and for the Hottentots, Le N'aillant. i will
here only give a few additional instances.

The natives of (Queensland, says Mr. Lang, 'have no
'idea of a supreuie divinity, the creator and govi'rnor
' of th(> world, t]ie witness of their actions, and their
'future jugc. I hey have no object of woi'ship, even
'of a subordinate and inferior rank. Tliev have no
'idols, no teni|)les, no sacrifices. In short, they have
' JiothiniT whatever of the I'haracter of reliuion, or of
'reliu'lous observance, to <listiui'Miish them I'rom the
'beasts that perish. They live " without God in the

' I'lvliistoi'it; Timtv^*, ord oditiitn, - Sec uIsd FraiiK-liii's .lournt'y to

p. 570. tht; I'ohir iitiii, vol. ii. p. M').

l> -1

'i:\

*■•■

■■-vil

.('

I .

ij;<

210

ABSENGE OF BELIOIOX.

' " world." ' ^ He quotes, also, in support of this, the
opinion of Mr. Schmidt, who hv^ed as a missionary
among the natives of Moreton P>ay for seven years, and
was well acquainted with their language.

Mr. Ridley, indeed, in an interesting ' Report on
' Australian Languages and Traditions,' ^ states that
they have a traditional belief in one supreme Creator,
called Baiamai, but he admits that most of the witnesses
who were examined before the select Committee, ap-
pointed by the Legislative Council of Victoria in 1858
to report on the Aborigines, ' gave it as their opinion
'that the natives had no religious ideas.' It appears
moreover from a subsequent remark,^ that Baiania: only
possessed ' traces ' of the ' three attributes of the God of
the Bible — viz. Eternity, Omnipotence, and Goodness.'

'It is evident,' says M. Bik,"^ 'that the Arafuras of
' Vorkay (one of the Southern Arus) possess no religion
' whatever. ... Of the immortality of the soul they
' have not the least conception. To all my enquiries on
' this subject they answered, ' No Arafura has ever
' " returned to us after deatli, tlierefore we know
' " nothing of a future state, and this is the first time
' " we have heard of it." Their idea was j\Iati, ^lati
' sudah (When you are dead there is an end of you).
' Neither have they any notion of the creation of the
' world. To convince myself more fully resi)ecting
' their wjuit of knowledge of a Supreme Being, I
' deuianded of them on whom they called fur help in
' their need, when their vessels were overtaken l)y

' Lang's Qut'en<]and, p. .374.
"^ Jour, of the Antlirop. Institute,
1872, p. 257.

^ Loc. cif. p. 278.

* Quoted in Koltl's Voyages of

( u

' relio

the Uoui'ga, p. Iu8.

1C8S.
I'll s of
[igion
they
es on
ever
now
time
Muti
'ou).
f tlie

ig''

l[) ni

'■y

ages

ABHFXCE OF RELIGIOX.

211

' violent tempests. The eMcst amonf]^ tiiem, after
' havinf^ consulted the otliers, answered that they
' knew not on whom they could call for assistance
' but beufu'ed me, if 1 knew, to be so ♦•ood as to inform
' them.'

' The wilder liedouins,' ^ says J>urton, ' will inquire
' where Allah is to be found : when asked the object of
•the question, they re[)ly, " If the Eesa could but catch
'"him they would spear him upon the spot; who but
'"belays waste their homes and kills their cattle and
He also considers that atheism is ' the

'"wives?"'

'natural condition of the savau'c and uninstructed mind,
'the night of spiritual existence, which disappears
'before the dawn of a belief in thini»"s unseen. A
' Cre-'^.tor is to creation what the cause of anv event
'in life is to its effect ; those familiar to the sequence
' Avill hardly credit its absence from the minds of
' others.' "^

Among the Koossa Ivatfirs, Lich ten stein'"* affirms
that ' there is no appearance of any religious worship
' v.'hatever.'

'It might be the proper tiuie now,' says Father
liacixert. ' to s])cak of the form of n-overnnicnt and the
'religion of the Californians previous to tlieir conver-
' sion to Christianity ; but neither the one; nor the
'other existed amomji- them. Tliev had uo maii'istrates,
'no police, and no laws; idols, tenq)l('s, religious
'worship or ceremonies, Avere unknoAvn to them, and
"they neither believe iii the true and only God, nor
'adored false deities. ... I made diliuent en-

' First Footstops in ICast Africa,
p. o'2.

^ Abt'okuta, vnl. i. p. 179.
•' Lichton.-teiu, vol i. p. 25.'3.

i 'J .»

I'i

'' '>'X

' ■

■ • > <

■ \ ^m\

,.'»■

• i\

212

ABSENCE OF RELIGION.

' ■' >j

!ll

II!

V •*

' quiries, among those witli whom I lived, to ascertain
' whether tliey had any conception of God, a future hfe,
'and their own souls, but I nciver could discover tlie
' sliijrhtest trace of such a knowled":e. Their lan«»:ua<»'e
' has no words for " God " and " sonl." ' ^ Indeed, tlie
missionaries found no word which they could use for
' God ' in any of the Oregon languages.^

Although, as Ca])tain John Smith ^' quaintly puts it,
there was ' in Virginia no })lace discovered to he so
'savage in which they had not a religion, Deere, and
' bows and arrows,' still the ruder tribes in the far
North, according to the testimony of Ilearne, who
knew them intimately, had no religion.

Several tribes, says Robertson,* ' have been dis-
' covered in America, which have no idea whatever of a
'Supreme Being, and no rites of religious worshi[). . . .
' Some rude tribes have not in their language any name
' for the Deity, nor have the most accurate observers
'been able to discover any practice or institution which
' seemed to inq^ly that they recognised his authoritj-,
' 01' were solicitous to obtain his favour.'

In the face of such a crowd of witnesses it may at
first sight seem extraordinary that there can still bu
any difference of opinion on the subject. This, how-
ever, a""ise3 partly from the fact that the term ' Jic-
ligion ' has not always been used in the same sense,
and partly from ;i iK'lief that, as has no doubt hap[)cned
in several cases, travellers may, from ignorance of the

* Raogert. Suntlisoiiiau Trans.,
18G3-4, p. 390.

- Hale's Etbnnirraphy of the p. ^^2•2. See also I'ritcbaid's Nat
U. S, Expl. Exped., p. 200. Ilis oiy of Man, vol. ii. p. G08.

^ Voyages in Virginia, p. 138.
■' History of America, book iv.

RUDIMENTARY liELIGIONS.

213

language, or from sliortness of residence, have over-
look(;(^ a religion which really existed.

For instance, the iirst describers of Tahiti asserted
that the natives had no religion, which subsecjuently
proved to be a complete mistake ; a'ld several other
similar cases might be quoted. As regards the lowest
races of men, however, it seems to me, even a priori
very difficult to suppose that a people so backward as
to be unable to count their own lingers should be sutfi-
cicntly advanced in their intcllectiud conceptions as to
have any system of belief Avorthy of the name of a
religion.

We shall, however, obtain a clearer view of the
question if we consider the superstitions of those races
which have a rudimentary religion, and endeavour to
trace these ideas up into a more developed condition.

Here, again, we shall perhaps be met by the doubt
whether travellers have correctly understood the ac-
counts given to them. In many casts, however, when
the narrator had lived for months, or years, among
those whom he was describing, we need certainly feel
no suspicion, and in others w^e shall obtain a satisfactory
result by comparing together the statements of different
observers and using them as a check one u})on the other.
The religious theories of savages are certainly not
the result of deei) thought, nor must they be regarded
as constituting any elaborate or continuous theory. A
Zulu candidly said to Mr. Callaway : ^ ' Our knowledge
' does not urge us to search out the roots of it ; we do
'not try to sec them ; if any one thinks ever so little,
' he soon gives it up. and passes on to what he sees

' The Religious System of the Amazulu, p. 52.

"\\

, >-

i V

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' '■■ ^

' >

' ■ ' , #.

■ ■■ 11

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iiLSiil

214 EELIGIOUS IDEAS AS SUGGESTED BY SLEEP

I'^vA

' with his eyes ; and he does not understand the real
' state of even what lie sees.' Dulaure^ truly observes,
that the savn^e ' aime niieux souuiettre sa raisou,
' souvent revoltee, a ee ([ue ses instituti' >ns ont de plus
' absurde, que de se livrer a Texaiuen, paree que ce
' travail est toujours pc'nible pour celui qui ne s'y est
'point exeree.' With this statement 1 entirely coneur,
and 1 believe that throui^h all the various religions
systems of the lower races may be traced a natural and
unconscious process of develoi)ment.

Tlie ideas of relitfion amon<!: the lower races of man
are intinuitely associated Avith, if indeed they have not
originated from, the condition of man during sleep, and
especially from dreams. Sleep and death have always
been regarded as nearly related to one another, 'i'hus,
in classical mytliology, Somiuis, the god of sleej), and
Mors, the god of death, were both fabled to have been
the cliildren of Xox, the i»"oddess of niiiht. So, also,
the savage would naturally look on death as a kind of
sleep, and would expect — li()i)ing on even against hope
— to see his friend return to himself from the one as he
had so often done from the other.

Hence, probably, one reason for the great import-
ance ascribed to the treatment of the body after death.
But what happens to the spirit during slee}) ? The
body lies lifeless, and the savage not unnaturally con-
cludes that the spirit has left it. In this he is con-
iirmed by the phenomena of dreams, which conse-
quently to the saviige have a reality and an importance
which we can scarcely a})[)reciate. During sleep the
spirit seeuis to desert the body ; and as in dreams we

' Histoire cits ('ultes, vol. i. \i. 22.

RELIGIOUS IDEAS AS SUGGESTED BY DFEAMS. 215

visit other localities and even other worlds, living, as
it were, a separate and different life, the two phenomena
are not unnaturally regarded as the complements of
one another. Hence the savage considers the t.'vents
in his dreams to be as real as those of his wnkinuf
hours, and lience he comes to feel that he has a s])irit
which can quit the body. ' Dreams,' says Burton, ' ac-
* cording to the Yorubans (West Africji) and to many
' of our fetichists, are not an irregular action and par-
' tial activity of the brain, but so many revelntions
' brought by the manes of the dei)arted.' ^ So strong
was the North American f;utli in dreams that on one
occasion, when an Indian dreamt he was taken captive,
he induced his friends to make a mock attack on him,
to bind him and treat him as a captive, actually sub-
mitting to a considerable amount of torture, in the hope
thus to fulfil his dream. ''^ The Greenlanders ^ also
believe in the reality of dreams, and think that at night
they go hunting, visiting, courting, and so on. It is of
course obvious that the body takes no part in these
nocturnal adventures, and hence it is natural to con-
clude that they have a spirit which can quit the body.

In Madagascar^ ' the peoi)le throughout the whole
' ishmd pay a religious regard to dreams, and imngine
' that their good demons (for I cannot tell what other
' name to give their inferior deities, which, as they say,
' attend on their owleys,) tell them in their dreams
' what ought to be done, or warn them of u liat ought
'to be avoided.'

•fi-i

!l:

Abeolnita, vol. i. p. 204.

'* Tlie Advontuves of Rdliert

Ladtau, l<>c. cif. vol. i. p. 3(10. Prury, p. 171. See al-^o pp. 170,
Crantz, lor. rit. vol. i. p. 2U0. 272. '

\ I..

5' 11 /

4< 5 K

;| T . ' . ; > ■

H ^ ■ ■'

ll ■

ijl :,

1 1

Hill J. ^^ :

216 BELIOIOUS IDEAS AS SUGQESTED BY DUE AM S.

Lastly, when tliey drcnrn of tlicii' departed friends
or relatives, savages firmly believe tliemsclves to be
visited by tlieir s])irits, and lience belic^ve, not indeed
in tbe innnortality of tlic soul, but in its survival
of the body. Tbns the Veddahs of Ceylon believe
in sjnrits, because their deceased relatives visit them
in dreams ; ^ the Karen- also believe that the spirit
can leave the l)ody during' slei-p ; ''^ and the j\rani*an-
jas (South 7\frica) expressly fi'round their belief in
a future life on the sani fact. ' l*ersons who are
' j)ursued in their sleep l>y the image of a deceased
'relation, are often kno^^n to sacrifice a vieimi on
' the tomb of the defunct, in order, as they say, to
'(..dm his disquietude.''*' Ag'ain:'* 'If during sleep
'you dreani of returning to your people from whom
'you separated a long time ago; and see that so-and-so
' and so-and-so are ha})])y ; and when you wake your
'body is unstrung; you know that the Ttongo has
' tak(>n you to your people, that you might see the
" trouble in which they are; and that if you go to them
'you Avill find out the cause of their unhappiness.'
Indeed, the whole chapter on dreams in Dean Calla
way's treatise on the religif n of the K'lffirs is most i 1-
terestinii* and instructive.

vSpeaking of the Peruvians, Garcilasso de la Vega
says,^ for ordinary omens they made use of dreams.'
The Tonj^ans thou^'ht ^hat the souls of chiefs — for those

' l^ailov, in Trans. ElL. Soc., * [Tnkiilnnkulu; or, the Tradition

N. S., vol. ii. p. .")01. of On-alioii as existing among flic

2 M'Mahou. Karens of the C. Annizulu, p. 228.

Chers. pp. ni, 127. ''The Royal Comruentaries of

^ The Basntos, Rev. E. Casilis, Ihe Inoas, vol. i. p. IH.'}. See a].«o

p. 2} 5. ^VuUke, he cit. vol. i. p. 310.

KKlimiARE.

217

of the common pco[)le were considercii to die witli their
hodies — 'hadtlie ])o\ver of rctiirninuf to ToiiLjii t(^ iiisjiire
'])riests, rehitions, or otlicrs, or to a})j)ear in dri'Mins,^
The Feejeeans^ also believe 'tliat the spirit of a iium
' wlio still lives will leave the body to trouble other
' people when asleej). When anyone faints <»r dies, their
' s])irit, it is said, may sometimes be brought baek l)y
' calling after it.' Herodotus, speaking of the Nasamones,
says that when they wish to divine, they go 'to the
' tombs of their ancestors, and Jifter having prayed,
'they lie down to slee}), and whatever dream tluy have,
' this they avail then)se]vcs of.' ^

Again, savages are rarely ill ; their sufferings gene-
rally arise from wounds; their deaths are generally
violent. As an external injury received in wju* causes
pain, so when they suffer internally they attribute it to
some internal enemv- Hence when the Anstralian,
]»erhaps after too heavy a meal, has his slumbers dis-
turbed, he aever doubts the reality of what is ])assing,
but considers that he is attacked by some being whom
his comj)anions cannot see.

This is well illustrated in the following passage from
tlie 'United States Exploring Expedition:'"* ' Some-
' times, when the Australians are asleep, Koin makes
'his a])pearance, .seizes u[)on one of them and carries
'him off. The person seized endeavours in vain to cry
'out, being almost strano:led. At davlight, however*
' lie disappears, and the man finds himself con\eyed
' sal'ely to his own fireside, j-'rom this it w<jul«l appear

' ^faviii'TV Tonga Tsiamls, viil. ii. vol, i. p. 242.
p. l;;.^. 2 ]\i,,l|„j,„..no, 17i'.

^ \N illianjs' Fiji and tliv Fijians, ■* L'>c. cif. vol. vi. p. 110.

mm '

218

SIIJVOWS.

' that tlie (Icin^n is here a sort of personlficntion of the
' nigliliiiure — a viHitation to wliicli the natives, from
' their habits of f^oi'^irif^ themselves to the utmost wlieu
' they obtain a sin)ply of food, must l)e very subject.'

The Karens suppose ' that niglitmare is caused by an
unfriendly spirit sitting on the stomach.' ^

Si)eakin«^' of the Nortli-Western Americans, Mr.
Sproat says :'^ ' The apparition of ghosts is especially an
' occasion on "vvhich the services of the sorcerers, tiie
' old women, and all the friends of the ghost-seer are
'in great re([uest. Owing to the quantity of indiges-
' tibl(! food eaten by the natives, they often dream that
' they are visited by ghosts. Aftera sup})er of blul)ber,
' followed by one of the long tails about departed
' friends, which take place round the tire, some nervous
* and timid [)erson may fancy, in the night-tiine. that
' he sees a ghost.'

In some cases the belief that nillti possesses a spirit
seems to have been suggested by the shadow. Thus,
unong the Feejeeans,^ ' some speak of man as having
two spirits, ills shadow is called "the dark s[)irit,"
which they say goes to Hades. The other is his like-
ness retlected in water or ?. looking-glass, and is su})-
posed to stay near the place in which a man dies.
Probably this doctrine of shadows has to do with the
notion of inanimate objects havir g spirits. I once
phiced a good-looking native suddenly before a mirroi*.
He stood delighted. "Now," said he, softly, " I can
'• see into the Avorld of spirits." '

1 M'Mahon. Karons of the G. Life, p. 172.
Cht'vs., p. 104. ■' Williams" Fiji anil tilt' Fijians,

'^ Sci'iie.s and Studios of Savago vul. i. p. 241.

TIIUXDEU.

till)

The North Aiiiorican Indians also con.sidi'r a man's
shadow as his soul or life. ' I iiavc,' says Tanner,
' lieard tlieni reproacli u sick person tor wliat tliey eon-
' sidered imprudent exposure in convalescence, tellin<jf
' him that his shadow was not well settled down in him.' '

The natives of Uenin ' call a m;.n's shad(»w his pass-
' adoor, or conductor, and believe it will witness if he
'lived well or ill. Jf well, he is raised to orcat happi-
' nesH and di^^nity in the })lace before mentioned ; if ill,
'he is to })erisli with hunger and ])overty.'"- They are
indeed a most su[)erstitious race; and Lander mentions
a case in which an echo was taken for the voice of a
Fetich.^ The l»asutos when walkin*:' alonj^ a river arc
very careful not to let their shadow fall on the water.
The crocodile, they think, ' has the power of seizing* the
' ;ihadow of a man })assing' by, and 1)y it dra<i'<»ing* him
' ' ito the river, where it will certainly kill him, though
' ii: will not eat a morsel of his flesh.' In ^Micronesia
the usual word ibr soul ' tamune ' or ' +amre,' means
properly shadow/^ and the same was the case in
Tasmania.^

Thunder, also, was often regarded either as an actual
deity or as a heavenly voice. ' One night,' says Tanner,
' Picheto (a North American chief), becoming much
' ahirn;ed at the violence of the storm, got up and offered
' some tobacco to the thunder, entreating it to sto}).'^

I It'

( !

> Tanner's t!ap(ivity, p. i?Ol.

- Astley's (,'i)lleclion of Voyages,
vnl. iii. p. !)!>, J'iiilioiton, vol. xvi.
]i. A.il. Hou aJni) Uiillaway on the
lleli-ridiis Syst<'!'i of llic Amaziilu,
p. IM.

^ Ni^er Ivxpt'ilitinii, vol. iii. p.

2l±

' Hale's Ethiioirrapliy of tho
I'liiftd States ll.vpl. ICxp., p. i»8.

^ iJuiiwick's Daily Life of tho
Ta.sniaiiians, p. 182.

'' Tanner's Xari'ative of a Cap-
tivity anirin;jr tlie ItidiaiiP, p. l.'iO.

• AiA

'•: ■ •■(■]

220

SriliJTS UKCAUhl':!) AS EVIL

iif;

».v

Bt *

I have nlrcjuly nicntioncd tliat sava^jfcs almost
always ivpird spirits as evil hcin^rs. Wu can, I think,
easily uiKlerstaiid why this should ])e. Amongst the
very lowest rares every other man — amon^'st those
slijrhtly more advaneed, every man of a ditlerent trihe —
is regarded as naturally, and almost necessarily hostile.
A stranger is synonymous with an enemy, and a s[»irit
is ))ut a memher ol'an invisiMe trihe.

The Hottentots, according to 'i'hunl)erg, have very
vague ideas ahout a good Deity. 'They have much
'clearer notions ahout an evil spirit, whom they lear.
'helieving him to he the occasion of sickness, deatli.
'thunder, and every calanuty that befalls them.'' The
liechuanas attribute all evil to an invisible god, whom
they call IMurimo, and 'never hesitate to show their
' indignation at any ill experienced, or any wish nnac-
'complished, by the most bitter curses. They hav<' no
' religions worship, and eonld never be persuaded by the
' missionaries that this was a thing dis})leasingto God.'-

Aniong the Mos(piito Indians there was no name
for a snj)remc good spirit, all their ai)pcals were ad-
dressed to Wulasha, the author of evil.''

Among the liongos of Central Africa ' good spirits
'are quite unrecognised, and, according to the general
' negro idea, no benefit can ever come from a spirit.''*

The Abipones of South America, so well described
by Dobritzhoffer, had some vague notions of an evil
spirit, but none of a good one.'^ The Coroados^ of

' Thunliprfr. Pinkevton's Voy- ^ Scbweinfuvtli'sITi'arl of Afiica,

ages, vol. XV. p. 14:?. Astli'v, loc. vol. i. p. 300.

cif, p. odO. '•' PobritzliolTer, Ivr, cit. vol. ii.

- Liclitt'Dslt'in, vol. ii. p. "'V2. pp. .'Jo, (!4.

' Biincrol't, loc. cit. p. 710. '^ Spi.v tindMartius, vol. ii. p.24:?.

I ,'

spih'irs inuiAuuiii) as cMsisa nisi: ash l'-ji

I)i'iizll ' acknowlc*!;;'!' no raiisc of j:;oo<l, or no (ioil. hut
' only an evil principle, wliicli .... lends liim aistray,
'vexes liini. I)rin<j,s liini into dillicnlty and daii;j;ei', and
'even kills liini.'

In N'ir^inia and I'Moi'ida tlie evil spirit was wor-
shipped and not the ;j,()od, heeaiise tlu; fonner ini«;lit he
propitiated, while the latter was snre to do all the uood
he could.' So also tlu* 'Cemis' of the W'l'st Indian
Islands were regarded as evil, and 'repntiMl to he the
' tiutliors of every calamity that affects th(! human
'race.'"'' The Kedskin, says Carver,'' ' lives? in contiiuial
'apprehension of the unkind attacks of spirits, and to

avert them has n-course to charms, to the fantastic
ceremonies of his [)riest, or the [)Owei'ful iiilluence of
his manitous. Fear has of course a greater share in
his devotions than <i;'ratitude, and lu; })ays more atten-
tion to deprecating the wrath of the evil than securing
the favour of the rnxxl hein

<J'S.

The Tartars of Kats-
chiutzi also considered the (!vil s[)irit to he more powerful
than the ii'ood.* The West Coast iiei'roes, acconhni:' to
Artus,^ represent their deities as ' hiack and miscliievous,
'delighting to torment them in various ways.' flicy
'said that the I'^uropeans' Clod was very good, who gave
' them such hlessirin's, and treated them like his child-
'ren. Others asked, murmuring, why (iod was n(jt as
'kind to them? Why did not lie supj)ly tiiem with
' woollen and linen cloth, iron, hrass, and such things,
'as well as the Dutch? The Dutch answered, that (Jod
'had not neu'lectcd them, since he had sent them liold,

I.;'

( I

' ^liiller's Gesch. d. American.

Urrel

l<MOnL'Il, 1)

lol.

Robortson's America, bouli iv.

p. 1J4.

ravels, p. .'iSS.

I'alh

IS, vol. iii. }), 4.").">.
Astlev's Collocliou of Vovayos,

vol. ii. p. 0(14.

J,.

'^1

'■I J

ill : f

o.>.>

Sl'inirS Rl'XLMtDEl) AS CAUSING DISl'JASE.

■n:

uri

-,::*

0(1, i^'llVl!

' i)alni-wine, fruits, corn, oxen, go.its, hens, and
' otlier tilings necessary to life, as tokens of liis Ix
' ]>ut there was no persuading tliein these thing.*-
' from God. They said tlie earth, and not
' them gold, which was dug out of its bowels ; that tlie
' earth yielded them maize and rice, and that not with-
' out the help of their own labour ; that for fruits they
* were obliged to the I'ortuguese, who had planted the
' trees ; that their cattle brought them young ones, and
' the sea furnished them with fi>-di ; that, hoAvever, in all
'these their- own industry and labour were required,
' without which they must starve ; so that they could
' not see how they were obliged to God for any of those
' benefits.' When l^urton spoke to the Eastern negroes
about the J^eity, they eagerly asked where he was to l)e
found, in order that they nught kill him ; for they said,
' Who but lie lays waste our homes, and kills our wives
' and cattle ? ' The following expression of Eesa feelings,
overheard by Biu'ton, gives a dreadful illustration of
this idea. An old woman, belonging to that Arab tril)C,
liavuig a toothache, offered up the following prayei* :
' Oh, Allah, may thy teeth ache like mine ! Oh, Allali,
' may thy gums be as sore as mine ! ' Can this be called
' religion'? Surely in spirit it is the very reverse.

Dr. Nixon, first IJishop of Tasmania, tells ^ us tliat
among the natives of that country ' no trace can be
' found of the existence of any religious usage, or even
' sentiment amongst them ; unless, indeed, we may call l)y
' that name the dread of a malignant and destructive
' s[)irit, wliich seems to have been their predominant, if
' not their only, feeling on the sul)ject.'

' lioiuvick's Diiil}' Life of the 'lasiiiiuiinDs, p. 17:?.

'.>

MA DXESS BE VEREXi ' El).

reine and beneficent Gotl,

concc

unter/
gion is a

' relioc'ion of terror and doo-radation. Hunted and
' driven from country to country by a sujjerior race, lie
' cannot understand how a Being can be more powerful
' than himself without wishing to harm him.' The
Circassians^ and some of the Chinese** have also
similar ophiions.

Hence it is that mad people are in many countries
looked on witli so much reverence, since they are re-
garded as the special abode of some deity .'^ Savages
who believe that diseases are owing to magic naturally
conclude tluit death is so too. Far from liavini»" realised
to theuiselves the idea of a future lif(i, tliey have not even
learnt that death is tlie natural end of this one. A\'^e
find a very Ji'encral conviction amoni'' savai»"es that there
is no such thing as natural death, and tliat when a nuui
dies without being wounded he must bo the victim of

magic.

Thus ]\Ir. Lang,^ speaking of the Australians, says
that whenever a native dies, ' no m atter how evident it
'may be that deatli has been the result of natural
'causes, it is at once set down that the defunct was
' bewitclied by the sorcerers of some neighbouring tri])e.'
Among the natives of Southern Africa no one is sup-
posed to die naturally.^ The Bechuanas, says Philip,
'and all the Kaffir tribes, have no idea of [.-'ly nuui

' Aniiiil8of Kiival l^enj^al, p. IHl.

2 Kk'um), Alljr.Cult. d.Meiiscli.,
vol. iv. p. 30.

•■' Trails. Kthn. Soc. 1870,]), L'l.

■' See Cook, A'oyage to the
racilic, vol. ii. p. 18.

^ Loot mo on tile Aborifriiii's of
Australia, p. 14. Seo iil.sn Oldlield's
Trans. I'Ului. Sue., N.S,, vol. iii. p.

" (Jliapiuan's Travels in Africa,
vol. i. p. 47.

rr!

♦ -'-"if

1 ;

-31

"i-i

M:^

221.

BELIEF IN WITGHGUAFT.

* dying except from hunger, violence, or witclicraft.
' If a man die even at the age of ninety, if lie do not d'*;
'of hunger or by violence, his death is im[)iited to
' sorcery or to Avitchcraft, and blood is required to
'expiate or avenge it.' ^ So also Battel tells us that
on the Guinea Coast 'none on any account dieth,
'but that some other has bewitched them to death.' ^
DobritzhofFer ^ mentions that ' even if an Abipon die
' from being pierced with many wounds, or from having
' his bones broken, or his strength exhausted by ex-
' treme old age, his countrymen all deny that wounds
' or weakness occasioned his death, and anxiously try to
'discover by Avhich of the jugglers, and iov what reason
'he was killed.' Stevenson* states that in South
America ' the Indians never believe that deatli is
' owing to natural causes, but that it is the effect of
' sorcerv and witchcraft. Thus on the death of an in-
' dividual, one or more diviners are consulted, Avho
' generally name the enchanter, and are so implicitl}/'
' believed, that the unfortunate object of their caprice
' or malice is certain to fall a sacrifice.' Wallace^ found
the same idea among the tribes of the Amazons ; Milller"
mentions it as prevalent among the Dacotahs ; Hearne"
among the Hudson's Bay Indians.

But though spirits arc naturally much to be dreaded
on various accounts, it by no means follows that they
should be conceived as necessarily wiser or more power-

' riiilip's South Africa, vol. i. p. ' Travels in South America, vol.

118. i. p. 00.

- Advent uros of Andrew IJatlel, ^ Loc. cit. p. 500

Pinlieiton, vol. xvi. ]). ^(JJ:. See also "^ Amer. Urreligionen, p. 82.

A.t.tli'y, vol. ii. p, ;>00. ' Lov. cit. p. 338.

^ Loc. (it. vol. ii. p. 84.

^ ..

DISBELIEF OF NATURAL DEATH.

225

fill than men. Of this our table-turners and spirit-
rappers give a modern iUustration. So also the natives
of the Nicobar Islands were in the habit of putting up
scarecrows to frighten the ' Eewees ' away from their
villages.' The inhabitants of Kamtschatka, according
to Kotzebue,^ insult their deities if their wishes are
unfulfilled. They even feel a contempt for them. If
Kutka, they say, had not been so stupid, would he
liave made inaccessible rocks, and too rapid rivers ? ^
The Lapps, according to Klemm, made idols for their
deities, and placed each in a separate box, on which
they indicate the name of the deity, so that each
mioht know it? own box.*

Vancouver '' mentions that the inhabitants of Owhy-
hec were seriously offended with their deity for per-
mitting the death of a popular young chief named
Wliokaa. Yate observes ® that the New Zealanders,
attributing certain diseases to the attacks of tho Atua,
endeavoured either to propitiate or drive him away ; in
the latter case ' they make use of the most threatening
' and outrageous language, sometimes telling their deity
' that they will kill and eat him.'

In India the seven great ' Rishis ' or penitents are
described in some of the popular tales as even superior
to the gods. One of them is said to have ' paid a visit
' to each of the three principal divinities of India, and
' began his interview by giving each of them a kick !

' Voyajre of the ' Nnvara,' vol. ii.
p. 66.

* Loc. cit. vol ii. p. 13.

^ Klemm, ( 'ult. d. Menschen, vol.
ii. p. ;>18. Miillor's Pes. de (oiites
Ips Nations de TKiiipire liiisse, pt.
iii, p. i)'J.

* Loc. n't. vol. iii. p. SI.

'' Voyage of I)iscovei'\-, vol. iii.
p. 14.

** Account of New Zealand, p.
141. D'lJrvil)e'sY()yaj.rp de I'Astro-
labe, vol. iii. pp, i'4i}, 440, 470,

f.h: .

$'4 'I

" t

^ -.

i (

>;-l

fe«*;

' ^

22C^

LOW WEA.'^ OF SPTfilTS.

' His object was to know liow tlicy would (leniean tliciii-
' selves, and to find out their temper, by the conduct
' which they would ado[)t upon such a salutation. Tlie
' ])enitents always maintained a kind of superiority ov( r
' the gods, and punished them severely when ^h<'y ibuud
' them in fault.' '

How far the ' reli<2,ion ' of a low race may difl'cr
from ours we may see in the case of the Todas. Tlie\'
can indeed hardly be said to have no God, but their con-
ception of a Snj)reme 15eing' is tpiite without definition.' '-'
So different is their idea of a l)eityfrom ours, that they
regard certain bells, hatchets, and knives, as Deities ;
also certain bufl^'aloes, in -whom the sacred character
is heroditary ; and also the ' I'alal,' a man who is not a
chief, nor a ])riest, l)ut who has special functions con-
nected with the dairy, which invest him with .".
divine character. Though he regards himself, and is
regarded by them, as a god, he may again •:rjomc a
man, if he can induce any one to take his sacred office,
and incnr the tedium of the isolation which it involves.

The neii'ro of Guinea bents his Fciich if his wishes
are not complied with, and hides him in his waist-cloth
if about to do anything of which he is ashamed, so
that the Fetich mav not be able to see what is £>-oini>;
on.'"'

During a st()rm the ])echuanas cursed the Deity for
sending thnnder ; ' the ^Mincopies ■'' and the Namacpias
sbot poisoned arrows at storms to drive them away/'

■ .MnisliiiU's Tnila-.. p. IlU.

' C'lapinan's Ti.ivils in AlVicii,
\')|. i, ]i. ■}•").
■' Astlov's Colli'clion of N'ovfiL't's, •' !'ay, p. \7'2.

Vol ii. ]». (il'.S. Tll;'!vi'\"> lv\p In till' '■ Wi.d.l's Xiitui'al lli-t:)vy oi"

/.:uvi\ p. -'iTT. Man. v.il. i, p. .'li)7.

LOW IDEAS OF SPTIUTS,

•227

: " i .'iis'

AVlion the Basuto (Kiiffir) is ou amnraiidino* expedition
he ' <»*ivc8 utterance to those cries and hisses in which
'cattle drivers indulge wlien tliey (h'ive a herd before
' tliem ; thinking in this manner to jiersuade the poor
' (hvinities (of the country they iivq attacking) that lie
' is bringing cattle to their Avorshippers, instead of
' cominiif to take it from them.' ^

According to Thomson,- the natives of Cambodia
nssumcd that the Deity did not imderstand foreign
languages. Franklin"' says that the Cree Indians treat
their deity, whom they call Kejioochikawn, ' with con-
' siderable familiarity, interlarding their most soleimi
' sj)eeches with expost'ilations and threats of neglect if
' he fails in complying with their requests.' The North
Australian native* will not go near graves ' at night by
' himself ; but when they are obliged to pass them they
carry a fire- stick to keej) off the spirit of darkness.'

The Kyoungtha of Chittagong are Buddhists. Their
village temjjles contain a small stand of bells and an
image of Boodli, which the vilhigers generally worship
morning and evening, ' hrst ringing the bells to let him
know that they are there.' •' The Shintoo temjdes of the
Sun Goddess in flapan also contain a bell, ' intended to
arouse the G^oddc^s and to awaken her attention to the
'prayers of her worshippers.'^ According to the
lirahmans,^ ' two things are indispensably necessary

.H .'

i.i

' Ciisilia' Biisutos, p. 2,58. •• l^cwin's Hill Tracts of Chiltii-

^ Tiutis. I'.tbn. Soc, vol. vi. p. pnii.ir, p. .'i!».

2o(>. '" Sinith's Ton Weohs in .Tiipnn,

3 Visit to the Polar 8ca.«, vol. iv. p. -1!). See also (hitzlalT"* 'rhrca

]>. 140. Voy.i^'es to China, p. 2?m.

' Koppol's Visit to the Indian ^ Dubois, The Pooplo (if India,

Archipt'laiio, \.d. ii. p. 18l>. p. 100.

■; . '■ ■ >< ,

228

aiiEEfC AX]> nOMAX CnXCEPTIONS.

''m

V.4

■ -il

t 1

^.'?

' to tlic sacrificer in porforming the ceremony : several
' lighted lamps and a bell.'

The Shamans amoiiii' the Ton^iises and Biiniets, ac-
cord'ng to Miillcr, ' font r(''S(mner le taml)Oin* maf:^iqne
' pour convoquer les Dioux, les Diables, et les Esprits,
' et pour leiH's rendre attentifs.' ^ The Tartars of the
Altai i)icture to themselves the Deity as an old man
with a lon<j^ beard, and dressed in the uniform of a
Russian officer of drfiffoons.'*^ The ancient Finns had
no idea of inunortality in connecticm with their deities.^

J'^ven the Greeks and Itomans believed stories very
derof>'atory, not only to the moral character, but to the
intellect and i)ower of their deities. Thus they were
liable to defeat from mortals ; Mars, though the God of
AVar, was wounded by Diomed and fled away howling
Avith pain. They had little or no power over the ele-
ments ; they had no foreknowledge, and were often
represented as inferior, both morally and mentally, to
men. Even Homer does not seem to have embraced
the idea of onmipotence.^

Again, Diomed not only wounds Venus in the hand,
but addresses her in most insulting terms : —

Diiujrhter of Jove, from battleiields retire ;
Enoujrli for thee weak wnnien to delude ;
If WHY thou yeek'st, tlie les.sou thou shult learn
feliall cau.se tliee shudder but to hear it named.^

A'enus flies to Dione, who says : —

Have iiaticiicp, dearest child ; though much enforced,
Uf'strain thine anger; we, in heaven who dwell,

■ 1. *

' >[iiller's Des. de loutes les Na-
tion-; lie I'Mmjiire lliissc.pt. iii. ]). 15!>.

- Jhid. ])t. iii. J). ]l-2.

^ li. le ihic. l-a l''inlandc. V(d. i.
p. l.viii.

' Gladstone's Juveutus >rundi.
pp. 11)8, 228. See also Miiller's Sri.
System of Mytludogy, p. L^i>2.

■'• lliail, Lord Derliy's translation,
v. -"t*?.

;ir '»

SAVAGE IDEAS AS TO ECLIPSES.

220

Have much to l)ear from mortals ; and ourselves

Too oft upon each other suflbrings lay.

Mai's had hi.s sufferings ; by Aliieus' eons,

Otus and Kphialfes, strongly bound,

He thirtoen niontlis in brazen fetters lay :

And there had pined away the God of War,

Insatiate Mars, had not their sti^pmothor,

The beauteous Eriboea, sougiit the aid

Of Hermes ; he by stealth released the god,

Sore worn and wasted by his galling chains.

Juno too sufl'ered, when Amphitryon's son

Through her right breast a throe-barbed arrow sent.

1 )ire, and uuheard-of, were the pangs she bore.

Great Pluto's self the stinging arrow felt,

AVhen that same son of tv^gis-beariiig Jove

Assailed him in the very gates of hell,

And wrought him keenest anguish ; pierced with pain

To high Olympus, to the courts of .lovt,

Groaning he came ; the bitter shaft re. iiai ed

Deep in his shoulder fixed, and grieved his soul ;

But Pajon's hand with soothing anodynes

(For death on him was powerless) healed the wound.

In fact, it may truly be said that tlie savage has a
much greater respect for his chief than fur his god.^
This low estimate of spirits is shown in a very striking
manner by the behaviour of savages during eclipses. All
over the world we find races of men who believe that
the sun and moon are alive, and who consider thiit
during eclipses they are either (juarrelling with cacli
other, or attacked by the evil s})irits of the air. Jleuce
it naturally follows, although to us it seems absiu-d,
that the savage endeavours to assist the sun or moon.
The Greenlanders" regard the sun and moon as sister
and brother : the former beiuu' the female, and beiiii»*
constantly piu'sued by the hitter. J)uring an eclipsi;
they think the moon 'goes about among tlie houses to
'pilfer their skins and eatables, and even to kill thos(;

' St" Huvlon's Abbeoluita, vol, i. p. IfiO. Duboi;-, loc. cit. pp. 304,4;iO.
* Craiitz, vol, i, j), ■Jo'J.

i;'

'■-■nr '

^■■^

230

SAVAOE IDEAS AS TO IHHAl'SJJS.

. • t;

!:'}•-

* l)CO[»lc' tliat liave iio( iliily oltscrvcd iIk; vuli's oi iihsll-
'iieiicc. At sucli times tlicy Iiidc awjiy cvciytliiiip.-. aii<l
' tlie iHCii cany cljci.ts and kettles (tii tlie loj) ol' tlu;
' liouse, and rattle and beat \\\nm tlicni to 1 right cm aw ay
' llie moon, "'id mas e i.im return to his place. At an
'ecli|-e of t ;C i^uh tl-tj women pinch the dogs by tln'
'ears ; if t'uy ^•"v. i'S a sign tliat the end of the world
' is not yet come."

Tlie Irofpiois, says Dr. IVIitehill/ believe that
eeli])ses ixyq eaused by a bad spirit, 'who misehievonsly
' intereej)ts the light intended to be shed iijuni the earth
'and its inhabitants. Upon such occasions the greatest
' solicitude exists. All the individuals of the tribe feel
' a strong desire to drive away the demon, and to re-
' move thereby the impediment to the transmission of
' luminous rays. For tliis purpose they go forth, and,
' l)y crying, shoutnig, drumming, and the tiring of guns,
' endeavour to frighten him. The}^ never fail in their
' object ; for by courage and perseverance they infal-
' libly drive him otf. His retreat is succeeded by a rc-
' turn of the obstructed light.'

Thv, CiuMbs, says Lafitau, accounted for eclipses by
su])])osing either that the moon was ill, or that she was
attacked by eiiemies ; tliese they endeavoured to drive
away by dances, by cries, and by the sacred rattle.'"^
Some of the northern Mexican tribes had a very similar
custom, and under the same impression the natives of
Yncatan used to beat their dogs, and make other noises
dur'ng eclipses. The Chicpiito Ind'ans,^ according to

' Ai'cli.'col. Americaua, vol. i. p. Islands, p. l*7-. IVpoiis' j'Vav. ia

ool. S. Aniei'ica, vol. i. y. I'.i7.

- Lalitau, vol. i. pi>. i'l«, 'SyJ. ^ Lvc. lif. \o\. ii. ji. >i.

Toil It', llistuiv ol' thu Canb1)v

't'

VAh'inus ^(yr^^L\,s j.s to ijclu'sus.

231

l)<>l)rit/!»oiI'('i', iiiiiiL,iji(' that tlic >mi ;iii(l iimoii diiriii^Li'
cruelly torn ^v do^s. with whicli they

(eijpses are

' t' '"ik that ti.e air alxiiiuds, when they x-e their lin'ht
• livll ; attriljiitiiiii: tlieir bhxjd-red colour to the hite> of
' these animals. Accordingly, to defend thi'ir dear
' j)lanets I'roni tliose aerial mastiff's, they send a sliowei'
'of arrows up into the sky, amid loud vociferations,
'at the time of the eeli])so.' When the (luavcnrus,
says (diarlevoix, 'think themselves threatened a. :th :,'
'storm, they sally out of their towns, the men irn, 'd
■ with their mancanas, and the women an<] !iii 'ren
'howling with all their 'night; for they helievc that,
' l)y so doing, they put to iiight the devil that, '■'♦^uided
' to excite it.' ^ The ancient Peruvians, also, during
eclipses of the moon, used to beat their dogs in order
that l)y their howlings they might awaken her out of
the swoon into Avhich she was su])posed to have falicni.-
In China the same idea has ])revailed from time
immemorial, and from the reiun of Tcheou, I 100
15. C. a Court astronomer has regularly been appointed,
whose business it was to announce any ajjproaching
ecli[)se. The Court (and this custom has continued even
down to our own time) then assembled, the Em})eror
solemnly beat a tand)our, while the Mandarins shot
arrows into the sky to assist the luminary which is
eclipsed.^ The Stiens of Cambodia,'* like the Cambodians
themselves, account for ecli])ses by the hypothesis 'that
'some being has swallowed up the sun and the moon ;

■I

' History of I'araiiiiiiy, vol. i. p. (Jliiiioiso, pp. 'j:'>'-\. ;;o-'. Set; ;il>t
'.'2. Set" iil^^o p. 20.';. ralliif;, vol. iv. jt. L'l'C

- n. di- 1,1 \'t';^-a. vol. i. p. IS] ; ' .Moulioi's Truvol- ii» liulu-

Martins, Inc. cH. p. .'Ii'.

•' J)iot.. A-ti'''ii"iiii(' lu'liuiiii' it

( 'hiiia. v

1. p. -2.

232

VAUJvvs Ktrnoxs as vo eviai'siis.

ifi.

m'l

n )\

'iiml, in order to deliver them, they nuide n IriwhtAd
' noise, beat the tam-tam, uttered savage erien, and sliot
* arrows into the air, until the sun renpjH'jired.'

During an eclipse the Sumatrans ' also ' make a h^id
' noise with sounding instruments, to preveut one
' luminjiry from devf)uriug the other, as the Chinese, to
' frighten away the dragon ; a superstition that has its
' source in the ancient systems of astronomy (partieu-
' larly the Hindu), where the nodes of the mo(»n are
' identified with the dragon's head and tail. Tluy tell
' of a man in the moon who is continually em[)loyed in
' spinning cotton, but that every night a rat gnaws his
' thread, and obliges him to begin his work afresh.'

' In Eastern Africa,' Speke "^ mentions that on one
occasion, 'as there was a partial eclipse of tiie moon, all
' the Wanguana marched up and down from Rumanika's
' to Nnanao'i's huts, sinmno; and beatini»; our tin cook-
' ing-pots to frighten off the spirit of tlie sun from con-
' suming entirely the chief object of reverence, the
' moon.' Lander ^ mentions that at Boussa, in Central
Africa, an ecli[)se was attributed to an attack made by
the sun on the moon. During the whole time the
eclipse lasted the natives made as much noise as pos-
sible, ' in the hope of being able to frighten away the sun
' to his proper sphere, and leave the moon to enlighten
' the world as at other times.'

I was myself at Darhoot, in Upper Egypt, one year,
during an eclipse of the moon, and the natives fired guns,
either to frighten away the moon's assailants, or, as some

' Marsden's Ilistorv of iSuiualia,
p. 104. AnHerson's Mis-.'^ion to

>peJ

24;5.

■i \

Sumatra,

'6.

•' IJ. and I. Landers' NiperRxpe-
dition, vol. ii. pp. 180, li^;).

t.i; n

IIELIEF IN anosTs.

233

he
ral

|)0s-

tli

\ar.

ins,
•me

Huid, out of joy at lier t'scape from daii^i^vr, though I
oUsci'ved llint the firin<^ began during tlie eclipse.

I reserve to a future ohjipter tlie consideration of
tlie ideas which prevail among the h)\ver races on tlie
subject of the soul ; but I nuist here remark that one of
the difficulties in arriving at any clear conception of tlie
religious nystcm of the lower races arises from a confu-
sion between a belief in ghosts, and that in an innnort'ii
spirit. Yet the two arc essentially distinct ; Jind the
s,)irit is not necessarily regarded as inunortal, because
it docs not perish with the body. The negroes, for in-
stance, says one of our keenest observers, Captain
Jhirton, ' believe in a ghost, but not in a spirit ; in a
' present innnaterial, but not in a future.'^ Counting
on. nothing after the present life, there is for them
no hope beyond the grave. They wail and sorrow
with a burden of despair. * Amekwisha ' — ' lie is
' finished ' — is the East African's last word concern-
ing parent or friend. ' All is done for ever,' sing the
\Ver^t Africans. The least allusion to loss of life makes
their black skins pale. ' Ah ! ' they exclaim, ' it is bad
' to die ; to leave house and iiomc, wife and children ;
'no more to wear soft cloth, nor eat meat, nor smoke
'tobacco.' The Bongos of Soudan have, says Schwein-
lurth,- not the remotest conception of innnortality.
They have no more idea of the transmigration of souls,
or any doctrine of the kind, than they have of the
existence of an ocean. The Hudson's liay Indians,
according to Ilearne,' a good observer, and one who had

■■!■
■t

rM::'

U ■'

Burton, Trans. Ethn. Soc.

^ Lvc. <:if. y. Oil. bee alto

N.S.

VO], 1.

f\-i:i

Heart of Africa, v;)l. i. \\ ^04.

anfr, p. I4(>.

■M

L»;n

JtEI.IEF l\ CllnSTS.

I '/.

iun|>l(' iiicjiiis nf jii(ln-iuo'j liad no idcji of jiny lill; iil'tcr

(Iciltll.

Ill oilier cases tlie sj)irit is siip))ose(l to survive tlic
ixidy lor a cerlniii time, iiiid lo liiiucr !il)oiit its nid
idM)de. Ask the nc^To, siiys M. Dii Ciiaillii.' ' wliei-e is
' tlie spirit of liis ^reat-^a'andfatlua' ? lie says lie does
'not know; it is done. Ask liini about the siiiritofhis
'lalher or hrothei* who died yesterday, then he is full
'of fear and terror ; he believes it to be p-nerally near
' the ]»laee where the body has been buried, and ainonLi;
' many tribes the villa*j^e is removed immediately alter
' the death of one of the inhabitants.' 'J'he same belief
])revails amon<»' the Amaziibi Kallirs, as has been well
shown by ^Ir. Callaway.- They believe that the s])irits
of their deceased fathers and brothers still live, Ijecaiise
they a])j)ear in dreams ; by inverse reasonini;', however,
grandfathers are generally re<i;arded as having* ceased to
exist; perlia})s in some cjises becansc the; spirit is su[)-
])o8ed to have taken, and identilie<l itself with, a new
1 >ody.

Jiosman mentions that on the Guinea Coast, when
' any considerable person dies, they pcr[)lex one another
' with horrid fears, proceding' from an opinion that he
' a])j)ears for several nights sncccssively near his late
' dwelling.''' Thus it seems that the power of a ghost
after death bears some rehition to that which the man
possessed when alive.

I'or the dead, also, the pr()S})eet is cheerless enough.
According to Livingstone, for instance, the Jiatives ol

' Trans. J'lllui. Ir^dC, N,!S.. vol i. Aina/iilii. ISIiO.
1'. :](»!•. ^ Lk'simm, /cc cit. y. 10-'.

-' The rkt.'liLri"Ut Sxticui nl' ilu

FUTUh'i: I'li'i': jh:i'i:m>i:.\t n.v mdih: (>/•• i>i:atu. -j;;:.

U'll
\VY

iitc

lost
Kill

An<;"<>lsi Ijiiicy that, wlicii (lead tlicy will h«' ' coiuplctcly
'ill the jinwcr of tlic «lis('Mih(»(h('(l spirits, aiid look ii|)(iii
'the pi'osjjcct of loUu\vin<i; them as the greatest of inis-
' I'dftiiiies.'^

OtlKT negroes tliink tliat after death tliey hccome
wliile men- — a eiirious ifh-a, which also oeeurs in Aiis-
ti-alia." in Tasmania,' in 'J'anna,' X(!W (Jninea.'' and New
Caledonia ;" that is to say, in at least four of thi' most
distinct human races. Among the 'J'ipperahs of ('hitta-
gong, if ft man dies nway from home, his reliitives
st retell a thread over all the intermediate streams, so
that the s})irit of the dead man may return to his own
village ; it being sui)})Oscd that ' without assistance
'spirits are unable to cross running water; therefore
' the stream here had been bi-idgod in the manner afore-
' said.'® We know that a somewhat similar ideti existed
in luu'ope, and it occurs also in the Feejee Islands.

Again, some modes of death are suj»posedto kill not
only the body, but the spirit also. Thus a liushman,
having i)iit to deat;li a woman, who was a mMLiician.
dashed the head of the corj)sc to pieces with large
stones, buried her, and made a large fire over the grave,
for fear, as he ex])lained to Liclitenstein, she should
ris(! aji'ain ud 'trouble him."'' The llervev IshiiKk'rs
believed that all who di(! a natural death are annihi-
lated."^ Even the New Zealandcrs believed that a mint

' Travels in S. Africa, p. 440.

• tJosiuan, lie, cif. p. 40!.

•' I^aiijr'.*' (^iii't'ii>-laiicl, pp. .'lis,
i>')\. Trans. Etbii, Soc, vol. iii.p. l'51>.

' IJiinwiek's ])aily Jjil'e of the
Tafiuiaiiiaiis, p. ]H4.

•' Turnei's NiueU'i'ii Yfarf* in
]'"lyiicsia, p. 424.

<-iill, J'luni. li.Cui.Lr. Sou. l^"-),

p. o.i.

" lirenclilfva Cruiso oi tln>
M 'uraemia,' p. IW'J. St c al-i' JJiii-
IdmV Dahoiiif, vol. 11. p. ]<)(").

'^ Luwin's JliU Tracts uf Cliitta-
froiiiT, ]v '^t.

■' iiichtwi-l'iii, Mil. ii. \'. '>1.

'" (iill,M\l!icnriln.'Suuaira' ilir,
p. 1(1-'

.!■ ;

^\-

■ .■!.{■

236 BELIEF IN THE PLURALITY OP SOULS.

8 'lii 1

m 1

.^:

.^"1

Avlio was eaten was destroyed, botli body and spiiit.
The same idea evidently influenced the Californian who,
as recorded by "Sir. Gibbs, did not dispute the im-
mortality of tliC whites who buried their dead, l)ut
could not believe the same of his own people, because
they were in the habit of burning them.^

In these cases it Avill be observed that the existence
of the ghost depends upon the manner of death mirl
the mode of burial. This is no doubt absurd, but it is
not illogical. The savage's idea of a sjiirit is s-omething
ethereal indeed, but not altogetlier immateriril, and con-
sequently it may be injured by violence. Some races
believe in ghosts of the living, as well as of the dead.
For instance, the Feejeeans- believe 'that the spirit of
' a man who still lives will leave the body to trouble
' other people when asleep. When anyone faints or
' dies, their spirit, it is said, may sometimeis be brought
* back by calling after it.'

Even wiien the ideas of a soul and of future life are
more developed, they are far from always taking the
dii'cction of our beliefs. Thus the Caribs and Kedskins
believe that a man lias more than one soul ; to this
they are probably led by the pulsation of the heart and
the arteries, Avhich they regard as evidences of independ-
ent life. Thus also they account for inconsistencies of
behaviour.

The belief in ghosts, then, is essentially different
from our notions of ti future life. Ghosts are mortal,
they haunt burial-gi'ounds and hover round their own
graves. Even when a higher stage has been gained, the

' Solioolcrnl'l'!- Iiicliau TiiLc.'r , jit.
iii. \\ lor.

Fiji and the Fijiany, vol. i. p.

:,'l-'.

the

<kins

this

and

K'lid-

}S of

iwmt

\v\i\\,

own

, the

. i. V-

DIVIXATIOX.

237

place of departed souls is not a heaven, but merely
1 setter earth.

Divination and sorcery are so widely distributed
that they may almost be said to be nniversal. Their
characteristics are so well known and so similar ?H
over the world, that I shall only give a few suggestive
illustrations.

Whipple^ thus describes a scene of divination among
the Cherokees. The priest, having concluded an elo-
quent address, took ' a curiously wrought bowl, alleged
' to be of great antiquity ; he filled it with water and
'placed the black substance wiiliin, causing it to move
' from one side to the other, and from bottoui to top,
' by a word. Alluding, then, to danger and foes, the
' enclianted mineral fled from the point of his knife ;
'but as he began to speak of peace and security, it
' turned toward and clung to it, till lifted entirely from
' the water. The priest finally interpreted the omen by
' informing the people that peace was in the ascendant,
'no enemy being near.' In West Africa'^ they liave a
mode of divination with nuts, ' which they pretend to
' take up by guess, and let fall again ; after which they
'tell them, and form their answers according as the
'numbers are even or odd.' The negroes of Kgba'*
consult Sliango by ' throwing sixteen pierced cowr'es :
'if eight fall upwards and eight downwards, it is peace;
'if all are upwards, it is also a good sign; and r/<r
' nr.sa, if all fall with their teeth to the ground, it
' is war.'

]\ranv races use shoulder-blades in divin.'ition. The

' Ki'])()vt on the Indiiiii Tribes, p. ','>'),

'■ A.-^lley's ('(illivtioii of Voyiiu'e.a, vol. ii. p. (!74.

' Abbeoliiita, \ 1. i. p. Iss.

;;i

i: !:■

;' ?

'4ti i '

I'M ^ '

^Ijli

2:].s

BIVIXATTOX.

bone is i)lncG(l in tlic fire luid the iiitiire is indicated V'^'
tlie arrang'enient of tlie cracks (figs. 1')-17). The
same custom exists amon^'tlie Lapps, the Mong'ols^ and
Toi^mises'"^ of Siberia, tlie Afl'g'lians,'' tlie l>edonins, and
even in our own coiuitry.' The lines vary of course
_i;i'eatly; still, there arc certain principal cracks which
usually occur. The accompanying' fio-nres of Kalmuck

SU()UT.I)i;U-HLAl)ES I'REPAllEI) I'OR DIVTNATIOX.

(Klenini, Ciiltuvji-. dor Meuschhoit, vol. iii. p. 200.)

s])ecimens are copied from Klemn, Avho ex])lains, after
Pallas, the meaning* of the various lines.

' Klcnun, Cult. (Ut Moiiscli., vul. cliisbiii, vol. iii. p. o.'U.
iii. p. Ittlt. ' Tvlor'.s Piimitive Ciiltiiro, vol.

- Miiller'.s Dos. do toutcs los ii, )). 11;!. Jlraiul's Pop. Aiit,, V'll.

Niii. dc ri^iiip. IJiissc, pi. iii. ]). Ki;'.. iii. p. .'J.'l'.t. Foi'Ik'.'s Le.'^lic i'lurlv

' .Mii.-s.iii's .luiinifvs ill r.o'.oo- lliu'i'.- dl' Soulluad, Vol. ii. p. I'l'l.

line

DTVlXATrOX.

•J;!'.t

Otlicr Yakuts profess to iurctell the I'utnre by tlio
lines of the palm of tlic liaiid.'

Tlie Chipewyans of Xortli Ameriea, also make their
ina<^"ic (lrawin<4's on slioulder-hlades, wliieli tliey tlieii
throw into the lire.- A\ illianis''(leseril)es various modes
of divination practised in Fe(;jee.

Calh

anon laiiaway j^ives an interestmg' accoinit
divination as ])ractised among' the Zulus, and mentions
one ease in which the persons enquiring of tlie magician
gave him no clue to the answer they expected, upon
which he gravely told them tliat ' they did not know

• liOAV to encjuire of a diviner,' so he would send his
servant to hear tlieir case, and pnt the enipiiries for
them: an anuising illustration of the manner in which
})eople allow themselves to be deceived.'^

Dr. Anderson mentions a similar illustration from
AVest Ynnan."' ' Three men had gone to the Kakhyen
' liills, and a report having reached their families that
' one of them had died, the old hau's were decidini>'

• upon the truth of the rumour, and d termining Avhich
'of the men it was who had passed into Natland. To
'arrive at this, they had taken, for each of the men
'whose fates were to be determined, a small piece of
'cotton-wool, and strung it thi'ough the eye of a needle ;

• and giving to each a special mark and the name of a
'man, they liad let the needles gently into the water, in
'which they were suspended by the cotton float, it
'takes some time before the cotton is so thoronghly

1 1 (.»

' -Miillm's ]'>i'-i. (Ic toiit('>; Ifs lands, vnl. ii. p, -J'-')'.).

X;it. <it' li\ni]>. IJus.^r, jii. iii. |i. Ki-!, ' IJfli;jiniis Sy.-iein of the Aiiia-

■' TauKi.)"-' Narrative, p. H'l'. /nlii. pt. iii. p. ."SL'S.

'■ Fiji ar.d liic lMJi:ii;.~, Mil. i. ]i, ' I'.vpcii. \n W.-trvii Vuiiaii. {>.

■.':.'N. S, .. ,ih(; M;iviiit;r'~ 'I'^'M-'a 1.-- -'■•!.

■A.\

itri-.

i i
'(

I. . .Kj

< 1 1

;!i

Iti

240

SOliCERY.

■

' wetted as to sink, l)ut tlie needle whicli first drops to
'the l)ottoin consigns the unfortunate whose name it
' bears to the huid of forgetfuhiess.'

When tlie Zulu soldiers ^o to battle, their wives
hang up ag'ainst the walls of their huts ' a simple uint
'of rushes which they have themselves plaited. As
' long as that casts a little shade upon the wall, the
'credulous w >man believes that her husband is safe;
' but when it ceases to do so the sight of it is produc-
' tive only of grief.' ^

In New Zealand, before a warlike expedition is
undertaken, the natives sometimes plant sticks in the
ground in two rows, one of whicli denotes their own
party, the other that of the enemy. If the wind blows
the enemy's sticks backwards, they will be defeated ;
if forwards, they will be victorious ; if obliquely, tiie
expedition will be indecisive. The same criterion is
applied to their own sticks.'-^

This is a case of divination, but from it to sorcery is
a short and obvious step. When once it is granted
that the fall of a stick certainly preludes that of the
j)erson it represents, it follows that by upsetting the
stick his death can be caused.

We find a very similar idea in the AVestern High-
lands of Scotland. In the ' Sea jMaiden ' a mermaid
appears to a fisherman, and gives him three seeds,
■'vhicii are to produce three trees, which 'will be a .:i^";n,
' vvb-n one of the sons dies, one of tiic trees will
'wither; nid ^mi.s accordingly took ]»lace.'^ A sup-

' AiV'riiss(>t'~ 'I'diu' to the Cajto
'< i.i) i irnp»>, j). 14.'5.
•' N dU''>^ Xi-w Zealand, \i. '••I,

■' raniplx'llV Tales of the \N'est
I{i;j!ilaiul^, vdl. i. p. 71.

the
the

isi'ii-

?ecls,

•i"']i,

wii

sin

NW.^t

SiHiCI'JIi'Y.

241

])Osc(l prophet of tlie Shawnees (Xortli Aiiicric!i) sent
won! to TaiiiHT tliat tlie fli'e in liis loduc was inti-
mately connected witli liis lite. ' Henceforth,' sai<l lie,
'the Hre nnist never In- suffered to u'o out in Nour
' lodii'e. Siiiniiier and winter, (hiv and iiiiiht. in the
'storm oi' when it is cahn, yon nuist rememl)er that
■ the hfe in your hodv and the iin; in voiii- lodux: are
•tlie same. If yon suH'cr your fu'e to he extinguished,
'at that moment youi' life will be at an end.''

Father AleroUa mentions a case in wliicli a Cono-o
(negro) witch tried to destroy him. With this object
she (Uig a hole m the ground, ' and 1 resolved,' says the
worthy Farher,""' "not to stand long in one place, thereby
' to avoid the design she had up<;!) me to bewitch me
"to death, that havinu' been the reason of her makinu" a
'hole in the earth. It si'cms their 'Mistom is, that when
'they have a mind to bewitch anxone moilallv, they
' put a certain herb or plant into the hole they have so
'dug; Avhich, as it }>erishes or decays, so the igour
'and spirits of the person they have a desigi u])on
'will fail and decay.' N' Feejee' 'one nio;le of terat-
' ing is to bury a cocoa-nut, with the eye upwards,
'beneath tlie temple hearth, on which a fii'i ^ kej)t
'constantly burning; and as tln' life of i nut is
'destroyed, so the liealtn ol' the person it i-epresents
'will fail, till death eiisue>. At Matuku tluri; is a
' UTove sacred to the u'od Tokalau. tl»e wind. The
' })riest promises the <lestruction of any liatetl jierson in
'four days it those who wish his death bring a | ortion
' of liis hail', dres.-, or food which he has lelt. This

' Taiiiitiv's Narrative, ]). loO.
^ J'iiikertou, vol. xvi. p. -*!)0.

:J4S.

■'' riji and the I'ijiaii-, vnl. i. p

''\

242

SOIICEHY.

,ii:]

hi Ji' Ml;

' priost knops a (ire biimiiiij^, iin<l approiidios tlio j)l!icc
'oil his liiinds nnd knees. If the vietiin ])allie hcfoi-e
' tlie fourth day tlic .s[)ell is 1)rok('n. Tlie most common
'metliod, howev^er, is tlic V!ika(h'anikaii, or compound-
' inu^ of certain leiives supi)osed to possess a m.'i^'icnl
' powisr, and wliicli Mre \vriipp(!d in otlier leaves, or pui
'into a small handjoo cmsc, and 1)iii'it'd in (he i^'ardt'ii
' f)f the person to he hi witclied, or hidden in tlie thatch
'of his honse. The native ima^'ination is so ahsolnfely
' nnd(!r the control of the fear of these chai'ins, that
']»ersons, heariiiLj; that they were the ohjects of such
' sjM'lls. have Iain down on their mats, and died throni^-h
' fear. Those who have reason to sus))ect others of
' [)lottini^' au;ainst them iivoid eatini!; in tlieir presence,
'or are cju'eful to leave no fra^'meiit of food hehind ;
' they also dispose tlu!ir garments so that no [)art can
'heremove(h Most natives on cutting their hair hide
'what is cut olf in the thatch of their own houses.
' Some huild themselves a snudl house, and surround
'it with a moat, helieving that a little water will
' neutralise the charms which are directed against them.'
In North America, to ensure a successful Ava.r, coin't-
ship, or hunt, the Indians make a rude drawing or a
little image to represent the man, woman, or animal ;
then medicine is a[)[)lied to it ; or, if the design is to
cause de;ith, the heart is pierced.^ The Romans, when
sacrifices were forhidden, used as a substitute to throw
dolls into the Tiber, and in India the mau'lcians make
small figures of nnid, on the breasts of which they
write the names of those whom ihey wish to annoy.
They then " [»ierce the images with thorns, or mutilate

' TiUiuor'ti Narrative, p. 174.

; '

(■■••

<C'S.

to
,'licn
irow
liikc

tlu>y
noy.
ilatc

COXFUSlUX OF XAMF AXD TIIIXG.

' tlu'in, so iis to coimniinifjitc a corruspondinn^ iiijiny
'to the [)(;rs()ii represented.''

In one of tlie despatelies iiiteri'e|)te(l diiriii;:; our wjir
witli Xepaul, Gourec Sail sent orders to ' liiid out tlic
' name of tlie ('oniiuaiider of tlie liritish Ai-iiiy ; write
'it u])on a })ieee of })aper ; take it, and some rice and
'turmeric, say the ^i^'reat incantation three times;
' liavini"' said it, send for some plum-tree wood and
•therewith burn it.'''^

The Tibeto-ljurman tribes are held l)y sorcery in " an
atmosphere of distrust, dread, and I'evenge." ^

In other cases, the possessiim of a person's nauie is
sulHeient ; and, indeed, all over the wor'd ^^e lind move
or less confusion between a thing or a j»erson, and its
or his name. Jlence the inij)ortanee attached in North
America, Polynesia, and South Africa to an exchange
of names. Hence, as for instance among the Negroes'*
Abyssinijms^ and Australians,^ we often find a pei'son's
real name ccmcealed, lest a knowledge of it should give
a power over the })ei'son.

The Chhiooks of Cohunbia 'are averse to telling
'their true names to strangers; with them the name
"assumes a personality; it is the shadow^ or si)irit, or
'other self, of the flesh and blood [)erson, and between
'the name and the indi\idual there is a mysterious con-
' nection, and injury cannot be done to one without

' Ikibuia, Tho l'ei'i)lt'iit' liuli.i, p. ' liiuton's DuIkjiho, vol. ii. p.

;J47. -^-4.

■* r.ad»'r"s Tciur to the IIini*liis, '' raikMis' Aby.-i.siiiiii, vul. ii. p.

p. o;!0. 14-').

^ M'MjiIjdii. Tbo Kaituft of the '' I'ricluird's Sni. Hist, of Miiii,

( luldcu ChcTsuuuse, p. l»l. vol. ii. p. 4ii:.'.

•I :l

^^;

:Uii

•'■!' h'

;.):*

1 1

■'^■*:^%M

'IH

rr. .

244

CnNFirsrON OF PAliT AM> WlfOLN.

' utti'ctin,!;" tlic otlicr ; tlicriiloi't' to ^ivc one's iiiiine to ;i
'friend is a iii^li iiuirk ofCliinook liivoiir.' '

Kvt'H tlic IJoinaiis, wlicii tli(3y Ijusiet^ed a town,
liad a curious (•creiiiony loiiiidcd on tlu; same idcji,
They invoked tlie tutelar deity of the city, an<l
tempted liini l)y the ofl'er of rewards and sacrifices
'to betray liis friends and votaries. In that cere-
'niony tlie name of the tutehu' deity was thou^'ht of
'importance, and for tliat reason tlie tutelar deity of
' lioi '3 was a profound secret.'-' \'alerius Soraiuts is
'said to have been })ut tu death for darini;; to di-
' vulge it.'^

Sumatra ixives us a ciu'ious instance of loni>- survival
of this idea in a somewhat advanced conuuunity. ' A
' Sumatran'^ ever scru[)ulously abstains from pronounc-
' in^" his own name; not. as I understand, from anv
' motM c of superstuion, but merely as a ])unctilio in
' niiunicrs. it occasions him infinite embarrassment
' when a straniicr, unacquainted with their customs,
'requires it of him.'

Generally, however, it was considered indispensable
that the sorcerer should possess ' something- connecte<l
' with the body of the object of vengeance. The })arings
'of the nails, a lock oi" the hair, the saliva from the
' moutli, or other secretions from the body, or else a
'portion of the food which the person was to eat. This
'was considered as the vehicle by which the demon
'entered the person, who afterwards became possessed.
' It was called the tubu, growing or causing to grow.

' Bancroft's Xative Racos of tlie vol. i. p. S.
Paciiic iStiitfS, \>. -^45. • l^liny. Rk. III. cli. ix.

^ Lord Kiimos" Tlistory of Man, ^ MiU'!5deu".s History of Sumatra,

vol. iv. p. '22<o. Ortolan's Justinian, p. '2>6G.

'put

ant.s 1,1,

SIMTi AinTY OF WnVllCUAFT,

245

' \\ lien j)rocur('<l, tlio tnrji was jHTfonncd ; tlic soivcrcr
'took tlie liair, saliva, or otlicr siihstiiiice tliat liiid
' beloMocd to liis victim to his lioiisc, or iiuirac, jicf-
' formed his iiicantjitions over it, an<l otfcrcMl his prayers ;
' tlie deiium was then siipjxtscd lo enter tlu; fidxi, and
'tlu'oiii;h it the iiidiviihial, who afterwards lu'came
■ |»oss(',ss('d.' '

S[)L'akin^' of New /.ralaiid, Taylor- says that a ' j)er-
' son who wished to bewitch another soii«>-ht to obtain
' somethino' bclonv;in^i«- to him —a lock oi' bail", a [)ortion
' of his o-arment, or ev\-ii some oi' his food ; this bcini^
' )>osscsse(b he uttered certtiin karakias over it, and then
' buried it ; as the article decayed, tlie individual also
'was supposed to waste away. This was sure to bo
'the e?KN(i' k the victim lieard of it; fear (piickly accom-
' jdisliiui; his enemy's wish. The ])erson who be-
' wiK^-hed another remained three days witliout eating;
' oM xhQ fourtli he ate, and his victim died.'

So also Seemann^ tells us that ' if a i-Yrjeean wishes
■^If*?) cause the destruction of an individual by other
^Tweans than open violence or secret poison, the case is
'put in the hands of one of these sorcerers, care Ixiing
'taken to let this i'act be generally and widely known.
'The sorcerer now proceeds to ol)tain any article that
'has once ])een in the possession of the person to be
'operated upon. These articles are then burnt with
'certain leaves, aii<l if the reputation of the sorcerer be
' sufticierr' .- powerfid. in nine cases out of ten the
"nervous tears of rlie individuid to be ])unished will

' Williams' Polynesian
soiivrlies, vol. ii. p. 22S.

land's Traditions of tli»' New Zca-

laiKlt'Vs, p. I J / .
'^ New Zealand and '\U Jidiabil- ■' A .Mission to \'iti, p. IsJt.

ants. pp. SO, 1()7. >^ee also Slioii-

.'^l

240

STMIMhTrV OF WVIVJinUAFT.

%'^^h

•f^iJ-tM

■i;. :

■ I

'l)nnuf oTi (lisojisc. if not dciitli: n siiniliir jU'oooss is
' :ij)]»li('il to discoNci' tliicvcs.'

Mr. 'I'linici* i;i\('s ji very siiMilar iU'coiint nl' (lis(';is('-
inakinu' as pnictiscMl in 'i'aiuiij.' Sii- (j. Tircy tliiis iU'-
scribes ji scene of witclici'aft in New ''eahnnl : ' Tlie
'priests^ t)ien duu' a lonii' pit, termed tlie pit of wralli.
' into whieli hv their lonu' cncliaiitments tlie\" miuiit
'brini»" tlie si>'rits of tlieir enemies, and lianu" tliem and
' destrf)y tliem there; an<l wlien tliey liad (hiLi; tlie ))it.
'mntterinn' the necessary incantations, they took jju'u'e
' slu'lls in their hands to scrape the spirits of theii-
'enemies into the pit with, whilst they muttered eii-
' cliantiiients ! and when thev had done this they
' scra]>ed the earth into the pit a'j'ain to cover tliem up.
'and beat down the earth with tlieir hands, and crossed
' the pit witli enchanted cloths, and wove baskets of
'flax-leaves to hold the s[)irits of tlu; foes wliich tluy
'had tbns destroyed, and eacli of these nets they
' accompanied with proper sju'lls.'

Tlie Tasmanians"' procured sometliinti; belonginu' to
'the unfortunate object of their wrath. wrai)])ed it in
'fat, placed it before the liiv, and expected that as the
' fat dissolved before the heat, so wouhl the health of
' the party decline.'

So also amoni»' the Austr.'lians of the Lower Mur-
ray,'* ' Every adult black fellow is constantly on the
'look-ont for bones of ducks, swans, or other birds, or
' of the fish called ponde. the flesh of which has been
' eaten by anybody. Of these he constructs his charms.
'All the natives, therefore, are careful to burn the bones

' Niiietpon yoar.i* in PolyiieMn, ^ Bonwick's Uaily Life of tln'

p. 00. Tasnianiaiip, p. 17s.

' I'lilyiicsiiiii .Mvtboldiry, p. KiS. ' Tapliii. Tlio Xarriiiycii, p. !'■'.

aiiiMJsi': MAdiciAXs.

2^4

'of the niiiiiiiils wliicli tluy L'Jit, so as to prevent tlicii*
' jn'ccaiitioii ; sutli hones are eommonly ol)t!iin('(l hy
'disease-makers aIio want tliem. \\ lien a man lias ob-
' tallied a Ijone — lor iiistanee, tlie leg-b(jne of a dnek —
' lie su|)[)oses tliat lie jiossesHes the power of life and death
'over the man. woman, or child who ate it- (lesh/

111 ^»orth America, also, ' a hair i'rom the head of
' tlie vietim ' is Mipposed to increase <:reatly the eflicacy
of'cliarms, and the same idea occurs at tlir Cape ; thus
Ij\iiiiistone tells' us that amonii' the Makoh»lo • when a
'man has his hair cut, lie is careful to hiirn it. or hiiry
'it secreth', lest, fallinu' into the hands of one who has
'an evil eye, or is a an itch, it should he used as a cliai'in
'to afllict him with hia(hielie;' indee(l, no on- can read
a book of Ali'ican traNcls without iK'in;^' struck by the
oi'cat drea<l ol' witrhcraft i'elt by the natives of that
continent.

Like our s})irit-rapi)ers and table-turners, the Chinese
magicians,''^ 'though they have never seen the perwon
'who consults them, tell liis name, and all the circum-
' stances of his family ; in what manner his h<^use is
' sit uated, how many children \\v has, their names and
'age; with a hundred otliei" particulars, w Iiieli may Ik;
'naturally enough supp<jsi'd known t<» tlu' demons, and
' are strangely surprising to weak and credulous minds
' amoiiii" the vuliiar.

' Some of these conjurors, after invoking the demons,
' cause the fiuures of the chief of tlu-ir set t, and <jf their
' idols, to a})[)ear in the air. Formerly they could make
'a pencil write of itself", Avithout anybody touching it,

^ Exiiedition tu the Ziuii'ljeyi, p. '^ A.-tle}"s Collection uf N'uyagcs,

4(J. Sliouter. Kativ.s of Natal, p. 2")0. \o\. iv. p. 'JOo.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

'•\V

.^I-^

1.0

1.1

ltt|28

wo ^^

ut |j2,2

£? Uo 12.0

2.2

ii^Hi4l

1.6

Photografiiic

Sciences

CorporaliGn

33 WIST MAIN STRieT

WIUTiR,N.Y. MSM

(7l6)t7a-4M3

'^V^

248

Wr/Mi'DS.

f i

i .

f! t

* upon |m|M'r or sjuid, tlic juiswcrs to (juostioiis. I'lit-y

* likewise cause all people of any house to pass in review
'in a larji'e vessel of water; wherein thev also show the
' changes that shall happen in the empire, and the inia-
'f^inary diirnities to wlii(;h those shall he a<lvanced who
' enihraee their sect.'

In all parts of India, says \h\ Kaira,' 'there are ])ro-
' diu;ious wizards. Wiien N'asco de Gaiiia was sailiiiLT
' upon that discovery, some of them at Kalekut showed

* jK'opIe, in hasins of water, the three ships he had with
Miim.'

We camiot wonder that savam's helieve in witch-
craft, since even the most civilised races have not lonji;,
nor entirely, ceased to do ^o.

Father M(U-olla.''' a Capuchin ' missioner,' tells (piite
<»;ravely the followino- story. The army of Sogno havinji'
captured a neiuhl)oiirin<»- town, found in it a lar<i;e cock
with Ji rinj^* oi' iron round one le;^'. 'i'his they killed,
cut in pieces, and put into a pot johoil ; when, however,
they thought to eat it, 'the hoiled |)ieces of the cock,
' though sodden, and near <lissolved, In'^an to move
' ahout, and unite into the form they were in In^fore,
' and beinu; so united, the restored cock immediately
' raised himself up, and jumped out of the ]>latter upon
' thv *;roun(l. where he walked ahout as well as when he
' was hrst taken. Afterwards he leaped u|)on an ad-
'Joininii" wall, where he hecame new-feathered all of a
' sudden, and tlun took his tliiiht to a tree hard hy,
' where. fiNinii- himself, he. after three cla])s of his winij!;s,
' made a m(>st hideous noise, and then <lisappeared.'

' (i>uoti'(l ill Ast lev's CdlWti

)f V

(>vairt'."<, v(i

1. i. p. O;:

Voynu'o 1(» Con^rn, riiiki'if.m,

vol. XV. It

EVIiOVEASS' liEl.lKF IX WTTCJirHAFT.

'J40

'<!,

0''

To doubt tlic reality of witchcraft, says I.afitau/
' est line industrie des atliee.s, et un eftet de cet esprit
'd'irreligion <jui fait aujourd'hui des pro<^res si sensil)les
'dans le inonde, d'avoir dt^'truit en quelijue sorte dans
' I'idee de ceiix nienies (iiii se piquent d'avoir de la
' religion, (pril se trouve des lioninies (pii ayent coin-
' nierce avec les demons par la voye des enehantenjens
' et de la niagie.'

I.afitaii does not, indeed, deny that some wizards wi're
iin])ostors, hut he maintains that'ce seroit rendre le
' niondc tro]) sot, <pic de vouloir le supposer ))endant
'plusieurs sieclesla (hipe de ({Uclcpies miserahles jonenrs
'de gohelets.' Nay, he even maintained' that America
was, for some mysterious reason, handc;! over to the
devil, and accounted for the remarkahle similarity
hctween some of tlie religious ceremonies, cVic., in the
new and old worlds, hy the hypothesis that ' le demon,
'jaloux de la gloire de Dieu, et du honheur de riionnue,
' a toujours etc attentif u deroher a I'lin le eulte (pii lui
'est du, et a perdre I'antre, en le rendant son a<lorateur.
' I'our cela il a erige autel contre autel, et a affecte de
' maintenir le culte qu'il vouloit se faire rendre j>ar les
'effets d'une puissance surhumaine, (pii inqtosassent par
'le merveilleux, et <pii I'ussent imites et copies d'ajins
' ceux dont I)ieu donnoit a son jK'Uple des temoignages
' si authentiques par I'evidence dv!^ miracles (pTil faisoit
' en sa faveur.'

Kven among our recent missionaries some, according
to Williams, believed that the Polynesian wizards really
possessed su])ernatural ])owers. and were ' agents of tluj

' Lor. I if. vol. i. p. :{7I,

■■ Vnl, i. p. .365.

!^ il

' '■.:■,".'

-i;;i

-I

11^

' 1 ' ,

'I*

■I

250 SOUCEREliS NOT NECESSAUTLY IMVOSTOUS.

' iufcriiJil powers.' ' ^*ay, Williams himself tliouglit it

* not im])ossil)lc'.*

We may well be surprised tliut Europeans should
believe in such thin<^8 ; on the other hand, it is not sur-
prisin«5 that sava«res should believe in witcheraft, nor
even that the wizards should believe in themselves.

VV^e must indeed by no means suppose that sorcerers
arc always, or indeed generally, inipostors.

The Shamans of Siberia are, says Wran<^el,''' by no
means ' ordinary deceivers, biit a pyschological i)hen()-
' menon, well deserving of attention. Whenever I have

* seen them operate they have left me with a long-con-

* tinned an<l gloomy imi)ression. The wild k)ok, the

* bh)odshot eyes, the hd)Ouring breast and convulsive
' utterance, the seemingly involuntary dist(jrtion of the
' face and the whole body, the streaming hair, even the
' hollow sound of tlu! drum, all contributed to the ellcct;
' and I can well understand that the whole should aj)-

* pear to the unei\ ilised spectator as the work of evil
' sjHrits.

Speaking of tlie Ahts, in North-West America, it is
undoubtedly a fact, says Mr. Si)r(iat,'' ' that many of

* the sorcerers themselves thoroughly believe in their
' own supernatural powers, and are able, in their pn -
'parations and practices, to endure excessive fatigue,
' want of food, and intense prolonge*! mental excitc-
' mcnt.'

Dobritzh offer also concludes that the sorcerers of
the Abipones * themselves ' imagine that they are gifted

' P()lv'.u">inii Kesearclii'f, vol. ii. * Scpiics and Sludit'S of Savajr^'

p. 220. * Lite, p. 17U.

* Silxria, p. 124. * Lw. cit. vol. ii. p, OS.

FA STIXa.

2.M

' with Hiij)orior wisdom ; ' an<l Miillcr also is coin iiircd
tliat tlicy liniK stly lu'licvo in tlicmsclves.' We slioiiM,
says Martins,''* 'do tlit'in an injustice if wo rc^anlcd
'till' Brazilian sorcerers as mere impostors,' tliou<^]i, he
adds, ' tliey do not scruplt! to chetit where they can.'

Williams, jdso, who was hy no means disposed to
take a favonrahle view of the nutive sorcerers, admits
that they helievetl in themselves, a faet which it is only
lair to bear in mind."' Turner also says the same of the
sorcerers in Tanna.'*

This sell'-decept'on was much facilitated by, if not
mainly due to, the very «feneral practice of fasting by
those who aspiretl to the })osition of wizards. The
Greenhinder, says Cranz,'* who aaouM ])e an angekok,
' nnist retire from all mankind for a wliile into some
' solitary ret'css or hermitage, must spen<l the time in
' profiHind ine<]itation, and call upon Torngarsuk to
' send him [i toniirak. At lenii^h, by abandoning the
' converse of men, by fasting and emaciating tlie body,
'and by a strenuous hitenseness of thought, the man's
' imaji'ination grows distracted, so that blended ima":es
'of men, beasts, and monsters appear before him. lie
' readily thinks these are real spirits, because his
' thoughts are full of spirits, and this throws his body
' mto yreat irre<i:ularities and convulsions, which he
' labours to cherish and augment.'

Among the North American Indians," when a boy

■■ i

•■

, {'

8avaj.'f

' Gesch. d. Aiiu-r. VrrvVv^r. p. 80. p. !H.

^ Von d. Itcchtsziis. uiitor deii ' History i»f Gieonlaiid, vol. i. p.

Ur. BrasilioiiH, p. ,'{0. 210.

^ P(dyu('siiiii HtwarchfP, vol. ii. *^ Catliu'." North Auierican Tii-

p. 2:.H{. diiiiis, vol. i. i». '.iC>.

* Niiii'tcon Yt aiv in Polvntsiji.

■»/:

. • tit

_■ ■ t ■ i'l
■ ' •' ' I

252

FASTIXn.

roaches maturity, lu* loaves liome and ahsonts liinisolf
for some days, diiriii«»' wliich lio cats nothin<(, but lies
on the gronnd tliinking. When at h-ngth he falls asleep,
tlie first animal about which ho dreams is, he thinks,
ordained to be his specijil protector througli life.' The
<lream itself Ik; looks on as a revelatiim. Indeed, the
Kedskins fast before any great expedition, thinking that
during their dreams they receive indications as to the
course of action which they should i)ursue.''^ Among
the (Jherokees also fasting is very prevalent, ' and an
' abstinence of seven dfiys renders the devotee famous.'**^
The Flatheads of Oregon have a very similar custom.
Hero, however, a number of youths retire together.
' riiey spend three days and nights in tlie performance
' of these rites, without eating or drinking. ]>y the
' languor of the body and the high excitement of the
' imagination prcwluced dm-ing this time, their sice])
' must be broken and visited by visions ada])ted to
' their views.' ** These, therefore, tliey not unnatiu'ally
look on as the visits of spirits.

'J'hose who ])y continued fasts have thus jiurified
and cleared their minds from gross ideas, are sup-
posed to 1)0 capable ol' a clearer insight into the future
than that which is accorded to ordinary men, and
were called ' Saiotkatta ' by the Ilurons, and ' Agotsin-
'nachen' by the Iro<piois, terms which mean literally

' n

' seers.

In IV'azil. a young man who wished to be a paje

' LnlUau, /or. ('jV. vol. i. pp. LH!?, ^ Whipple's llepoit on Iiid'an
1>!X), IJ.'il, and especially pp. .'W(} and Tv\U'», p. ,'JO.

;{7(). Tiioliard's Nat. Hist, of Man, ■• Dunn's Oiejfon, p. .'320.

vol. ii. p. >'i7'2. * lialitau, vol. i. p. 'ATI.

• Carver's Travels, p. 'J^t.

UKLHilOUS l>AS('i:s.

253

wi'iit alonii tosoinc inomitMiii, or to sonic hmv place, nml
fasted for two years, after which he was admitted witli
certain ceremonies into the order of pajes.' Amoni^
tli(! Al>i|)ones '-' and Cariljs'' tliose who aspired to he
'keebet' proceeded in a simihir iiiannin". Amonij; the
South American Indians of the Ivio de la IMata the
]Medicine-men were pre[)ared for their ofiice hy a lon;^
fast.^ Amon^- the Lapps, also, would-be wizards pre-
pare themselves by a strict fast.''

At first si«»-ht the mtroduction of ' dances ' mjiy
seem out of place here. Among savages, however, it is
no mere amusement. It is, says Robertson.^ 'a seriouft
'and important occupation, which mingles in every
' occurrence of public or private life. If any intercourse
' be necessary between two American tribes the ambas-
' sadors of the one approach in a solenni dance and
' present the calumet or emblem of })eace ; the sachems
'of the other receive it with the same ceremony. If

• war is denounced against an enemy, it is by a dance,
'expressive of the resentment which they feel, and of
' the vengeance which they meditate. If the wrath of
'their gods is to be a[)peased or their beneficence t<» be

• celebrated — if they rejoice at the birth of a child, or
' mourn the death of a friend — tliey have dances appro-

• })riated to each of these situations, and suited to the
'different sentiments with which they are then ani-
' mated. If a parson is indisposed a dance is ))rescribed

■ »i

!■; fr

' Marlius, Reclit. uuter d. Ur.
Bras. p. ,'{0.

'^ Dobritzhoff'er, vol. ii. p. <>7.

' Du Tort re, History of the
Caribby Islands, p. .34»'.

' Latitau^ vol. i. p. iiSo.

*• Klemm, (.'alt. dcr Mens. vol.
iii. p. So.

" Robert.sou'8 America, bk. iv. p.
183. See also Schoolcraft, luc. cif.
vol. ii. p. 488, on the Sacred Dances
of the Redskin.^.

25 (.

Ulll.UUOVS DAM'I'JS.

UlUsHUars PASCHS.

2:.:>

-3

•■a

*a« tho most eiruftujil moans to restore liim to health ;
' an<l if he himself cannot endure the fati^'uc of such nn
'exercise, the physician or conjuror performs it in liia
' name, as if the virtue of his activity coiiM he trans-

• ferretl to his patient.'

Amon<^ the Kols of Xa^pore Coh)nel Dalton ' <le-
scril)e<l several dances, which, he says, 'arc all more or
'less connected with some religious ceremony.' The
< )styaks also pi;rform sacred sword dances in lumour
of tlu'ir Ood Velan.'''

V\*f. IS represents a saorc 1 ihini;e as practised I»y the
natives of \ iri^inia. It is very interesting^ to see here
a circle of Mprij;lit stones, whi(;h, except that they are
rudely carved at the up[>er cm<1 into the form of a head,
exactly resemhie our so-called Druidical temples. In
lirazil, ajj^ain, ' some of the trlh's ha 1 no oth(;r worship

* than (hm<'ing to the sound of very noisy in^truuicnts.' ^
I'onwick, speakini^ of the Tasmanians, tells us that
'among their superstitious rites dancing was con-
picuous.'"'

The idea is hy no means confined to mere savages.
Kven Socrates'' regarded the dance as a part of religion,
and David, we know, did so too.*'

Dancing still takes [dace at the Breton ' Pardons,'
and, says Jehan, ' II y a moins d'un siecle (jue Ton (huisait
dans la chapelle meme [)our honorer le saint du lieu.' ^

As sacrificial feasts so generally enter into religious

If™

' Trans. Ktlin. Soc. vdI. vi. p. 30.

^ Krman, vol. ii. p. W.

^ I)«'pnns, Tr. in S. America, vol.
i. p. ins. S.'e also Zeit. f. EtLn.-lo-
Kio, isro, p. :.'70.

' Daily Life of tliu Tasmaiiiaus,

p. 186.

'^ Soc. apiid Atlipn. lib. 11. p.
028. Quoted in Laiitaii, vol. i. p.
I'OO.

** '2 8am. vi. 14, 22.

^ La Bretaguc, p. ooO.

■ i>

ISrnxmATKfS AS A U HUH in US Ul'l'i:.

('t!r(!in()ni{ils, we iuhmI not woiidur tliiil sniolviiiir j^
throughout Aimiricu closely c(jiiiK!(;tc<l with all ri'li^iou.s
cei'ciiiomL'H. just Jis incense is used for the same jMirposc
in the Old World.'

The Zulus also, when sacriheinjjc, burn incense,
thinkin«^^that ' they arc f^ivin<( the spirits of their people
a sweet savour.' '^

Anion*^ the Sonthals, one of the ahoriginal triU's of
India, the whole of their religious observances * are
'generally i)erfornied and attended to hy the votaries
' whilst in a state of intoxication ; a custom which re-
' minds us of the worshij) of Bacchus among the Greeks
' and Komans.'' The Mandingoes also are sai<l to intoxi-
cate themselves under the belief that they thu^ ae(piire a
sort of inspiration.

' Lnfitau, vol. ii. \h 133. ^ Tlit- IVople of India, In J. V.

• Callawny's Keli^'iouH System WutH)u and J. W. Kayo, vol. i.

of tLc Aoiazuhi, p. 111.

p. I.

•J ■.7

CIIArTKIi VI.

UKLKJioN {rontinih'tl).

IIAVK jiliviuly ()l)S(>i'vt'<l tliat any rational olassitica*
tioii of rcliirions siiould he tniiiKlcd, not so niiii'li
on the nature of the oliject worshipped as on the con-
i'(!ption lornied of the nature of the l)eity. In support
of tliis view I will now <pjote some illustrations to show
how widely distrihuted is the worship of various mates
rial ohjeets, and how nuieh they an; interwoven with

iiiw ano

ther.

ow rea<

savages are to <

leify

air

ifamiliar

ohjeets, is well shown in the following story from
Lander's ' Nii;er Expedition.'

In most Afriean towns and villa^^es, says Lander,'
' I was treated as a demij^od.' lie mentions that on
one occasion, havini:; landed at a village which white
men had never visited before, his party caused «i;reat
astonishment and terror. When at length they suc-
ceeded in estal)lishin«r a conununication with the natives,
the chief of the village gave tiie following account of
what had taken place. ' A few minutes.'"'' he said, ' after
•you first landed, one of my people came to me and
'said that a number of strange people had arrived at
'the market-place. 1 sent hhn back again to get as

' H. and .F. Lander's Niger Kxpedition, vol. iii. p. 1!>8.
* Luc. cit. vol. iii. p. "e*.

'1
t

:*/4H

t t

2r.H

nFJFuwrias i)F .u/;.v

H I

'near tn yuii mm li(» ('(mM, tn licur what ynii iiitcruh'fl
'(loiipjf. Mr soMii iit'tci* n-nii'iic'l to me iiml ^aid tliat
•yoii Mjiokc a laiiL;iia;ir wliich lie rniiM not UMilcrstaiifl.
' Not <loiil)tiiii;' it was your intciifinii to attack my
' villa;i(! at iiiu'lit aii<l niny ofK riiy jH'oplc, I dt'sirivl tlu'in

* to i;('t ready to linlit l*Mit wlicii you vmwm

'to iiKvt us uiiarnicd, and we saw y(iur wliitc faces, we
' Were all so Irij^liteMLMl that we <'ould not pull our
' hows, nor move hand or {'uu\ ; and when you drew
'near me, ami e.xtemled your hands towards me, I felt
'my heart faint within me, and helieved that you were
'•'ehildren of Heaven," and lia<l dropiK^l from the
' skies.'

liarth was identified hy the Kulahs with their
God ' l''ete ; ' Thompson and Mollatt were taken hy the
lieehuana women for dirties, while Tui'key makes a
simihir statement as renards Con^o, and aeeordiiiL;" to
Cha[)man, the liushmen <h'scril)e th(! white men as
the children of (rod. Amoui;' the natives of ludia the
(U'ilieation of men is still active.^

AmoiiM- (he Todas the' l*alal,' who is neith(?r a chief
nor a priest, hut whose s|)ecial function it is to tend
the sacrcil huffaloes, really considers himself a ji'od
durini;' his term <if ojlice ; though it is in his power
to divest himself of his sacretl character, and become a
man a^^ain, if he can lind anyone else who will consent
to take his place.^

The natives of the Lower Murray, as 1 have already
mentioned, when oxen were iirst introduced, concluded
they were demons, and lied in terror. They called

' LyL'll, F()iaui^(htly itoviow, Sop. 1875. - Miirj^liiiU's Todas, p. 1;W.

(finals' Ul' ASIMAL.WOUSIIIW

•J.'iO

|'ea<ly
iikKmI
liillud

.. lao.

tlicm Wiiinla-W'ityrri, " lM'in;4s with >|>t'ars mi their
" lu;a<ls." ' Aiiothrr triiu', mi the r«»iitnii*v, rhoiinht
the pack-oxt'M wen- tiu! wives. Ih-caiise thcv tarrirtl
till! Ija^^^^a^^i'." Many of the h)Wt'r races also, when
they first eaiiu! in emitaet with wliite men, took them
for gliosis.

The worsiiip of animals is very pn-vah-nt amon^
races of men in a somewhat hijiher stay^t; of civilisation
than that ciiaracterise<l hy Tetichism. IMntarch, lon^
a<;<), sn^io'estiM I tliat it arose from the custom «>f re|»re-
sentini^ animals upon staiplanis ; an<l it is possihlc that
some few eases may he diU! to this cause, though it is
iiianilt;stly inapplicable to the majority, hecause, in tlu;
scale of human development, animal-worship much pn;-
cedes tlie use of standards, which, for instance. <lo not
appear to have heen used in the Trojan war.' !)iod<n'us
e.\|>lains it hy the myth that the j;ods, heini;' at one
time liard pressed hy the giants, concealed tluMuselves
for a while under the form of animals, v»'hi(;h in con-
secpience became sacred, and were worship[»ed l»y men.

Another ancient sugg<' ion was that the l'igy|>-
tian chiefs wore helmets in tlu! form of animals' heads,
and that hence these animals were worshipped. This
theory, liowever, will not apply generally, hecause
the other races which W(H'sliip animals do not use
such helmets, and even in Kgypt there can he little
douht that the worshij) of animals preceded the use of
helmets.

IMutarch, as already mentioned, suj)po>(Ml that the
crocodile was worshipped because, having no tongue,

' Tapliii, Tliu Xaiiiiiveri, ]>. '5. • Ibid. p. o^.

•' (.Toguc't, Iw. cif, vol. ii. ;<(!4.
s2

5 -

2H()

ANIMAL-WORSIIIP

it was 51 type of the Deity, wlio iiuikes laws for nnture
by his iiier*' will !

This far-fetelKMl

anatioti
ail entire miseoiieeptioii of sava»^'e nature.

The worship of animals is, however, susceptible of
ji very simple explanation, and i)erha[)s, as I have ven-
tured to suggest,' may have originated from the [)raetice
of naming, first individuals, an<l then their families,
after partieidar animals. A family, for instance, which
was called after the bear, would come to look iM\ that
animal first with interest, then with respect, and at
length with a sort of awe.

The habit of callinir (rhildren ai^er some animal or
plant is very common, which amongst the h)west races
might naturally be ex[)ected from the poverty of their
language. The issinese of Guinea named their chil-
dren ' aftcjr some beast, tree, or fruit, according to
their fancy. Sometimes they call it after their fetich or
' some white, who is a Mingo, that is, friend to them.' -

The Hottentots also generally named their children
after some animal.'* In Conu'o"* 'some form of food

is forbidden to ever

yom

:n some it is a lisli. in others

)th

a bird, and so on. This is not, however, expressly

itated to be connected with the totei

11.

In T

vsmania,

accordiiii'' to Milliijan, names of children are taken from
plants, animals, or other natural objects, and the same
is the case among the hill tribes of India.

In Southern Africa the P)echuanas are subdivided
into men of the crocodile, men of the fisli, of the mon-
key, of the buffalo, of the elephant, porcupine, lion,

' Prehistoric Times, ISOit, p. ,508.
"^ Astleys Collection of Voyages,
vol. ii. p. 43(3.

^ Ibid. vol. iii. p. 357.
' Ibid. p. :>82.

THE KOBONG. THE TOTEM.

2r.i

vine, and so on. Xo one dares to eat tlie Hcslj or wear
the skin of the aninial to the trihe oi' whicli lie lu'Ionus ;
and althougii in tliis case Jie totems are not wor-
shipped,' eaeli trihe has a superstitions (h'ead of the
animal after whieh it is named.

In Mada^asear ' the j)retty speeies of lemur called
Babaeoote is believed by the Betanimena trihe to he an
embodiment of the spirits oftheir ancestors, and therefore
they look with horror u})on killinL»" them.' -

In China also the name is frecjuently ' that of a
'flower, animal, or suehdike thing.' ^ In Australia we
seem to find the totem, or, as it is there called, kobonii",
almost in the very moment of deification. Mach family,
says Sir G. Grey,'^ ' adopts some aninuil or vegetable,
'as their crest or sign, or kobong, as they call it. I
'imagine it more likely that these have been named
' after the families, than that the families have been
' named after them.' This, lioAvever, does not seem to
me at all })robal)le.

' A certain mysterious connection exists between
'the family and its kobong, so that a member of the
'family will never kill an animal of the species to which
' his kobong belongs, should he find it asleep ; indeed,
' he always kills it reluctantly, and never without afl'ord-
'ing it a chance of escape. This arises from the family
'belief, that some one individual of the species is their
' nearest friend, to kill whom would be a great crime,
'and to be carefully avoided. Similarly a luitlve who
' has a vegetable for his kobong, may not gather it

' The ]5)\.«uto!*, IJev. 1',. Casalis, '' Astlev's Collection of Vovajres,

p. 211. liiviiiji-.stoiie's Tvavi'la in S. voliv. p. !M.
Africa, p. l.'i. '* Two Kxpt'ditiou.s in Australia,

' Folk Lore Record, vol. ii. p. 22. vol. ii. p. 228.

i
''I

■'■

^t 1^1

gC!' iKli

Wm.:'

:-li

■r'-

'■)

: ;-ji

-i

2G2

TOTEMISM IN AMERICA.

' under certain circumstances, and at a pnrticular period
' of the yenr.' ^

The Cohunbian Indians are divided into clans or
' crests,' called after some animal, which must not l)e
shot or ill-treated in the presence of anyone belonging
to its ' crests,' or clan.

Here we see a certain feeling for the kobong or
totem, though it does not amount to worship, and is
apparently confined to certain di>tricts.''^ In America,
on the other hand, it has developed into a veritable
religion.

The totem of the Kedskins, says Schoolcraft,"'* ' is a
' symbol of the name of the progenitor — generally some
' quadruped, or bird, or other object in the animal
' kingdom, wliich stands, if we may so express it, as
' the surname of the family. It is always some animated
' object, and seldom or never derived from the inani-

* mate class of nature. Its significant importance is
' derived from the fact that individuals unhesitatingly
' trace their lineage from it. l>y whatever names they

* nuiy be called during their lifetime, it is the totem,
' and not their personal name, that is recorded on the
' tomb, or adjedatig, that makes the ]ilace of burial.

* Families are thus traced when expanded into bands or
' tribes the midtii)lication of which, in North America,
' has been very great, and has increased, in like ratio,
' the labours of the ethnologist. The turtle, the bear,
' and the wolf appear to have been ])rimary and honoured
' totems in most of the tribes, and bear a significant

' Bancroft, N. R. of V. S. p. 202.

'■* Eyre, vol. ii. p. .'W8. See also
Tapliii, Jour. Antlir. Inst, vol iv.
p. r)3.

' Sohnolcraft's Indian Tribe?,
vol. ii. p. 40. See also Lafitaii, vol.
i. pp. 404, 407.

TOTEMS IX INDIA AND rOLYXESIA.

2r,3

' rnnk tr) the traditions of the Iroqiu „> and Lonapis, or
' Dolawares ; and tliey are helieved to liavo more or less
' prominency in the penealogies ol' all the trihes who
' are or^^anised on the totemic princijde.' The C)sa<:;es '
helieve themselves to he descended from a heaver, and
consequently will not kill that animal. In Peru, airain.
many of the Indian families helieved themselves to he
descended I'rom animals.''^

So, also, amonii" the Khonds of India, the ditfcrent
trihes ' take their desionation from various jinimals.
'as the hear trihe, owl trihe, deer trihe.' ^.c. &.('.^
The Kols of Na^rpore also are divided into 'kielis'
or clans, generally called after animals, which, in
consequence, they do not eat. Thus the eel, liaAvk.
and heron trihe ahstain respectively i'rom the flesh
of these animals.'' The Oraons also are divided
into trihes, usually named after some animal or ]>lant,
which is not eaten hy the trihe after which it is
named.''

Among the Samoans, 'one saw his god in the eel,
' another in the shark, anoiher in the turtle, another in
' the dog, another in the owl, another in the lizard, and
' so on. ... A man would eat freely oi' what was
' regarded as the incarnation of the god <»f another man,
' but the incarnation of his own i^nrticular god he
would consider it death to injure or to eat.'" In
Northern Asia, among the Yakuts, 'each trihe looks

' Schoolcraft, vol. i. p. 320. vol. vi. p. 30.

* Garcilasso de la Vega, vol. i. * DaltonV Des. Ethn. of rWnifral,
p. 75. p. 254. Seo al.«o CauiplM-irs Wild

^ Early TJaces of Scotland, vol. ii. Tribes of Kliorulistan, jt. 20.

p. 405, " Turner's Xini-tt'eii Years in

* Dalton, Trans. Ethn. Soc.,K.S., Tolynesia, p, 238.

■f^i

f^^nl

I'/'^H

i '''1

!■ •

W' , :t

>-*■•

'Hi

>:s

264

SE It PENT. WOTfSHIP.

f I

ti'

' on some particular animal as sacred, and abstains
'from eatin<( it.' *

If, moreover, we l)ear in mind that the deity of a
sava<(e is merely a })ein<^ of a slightly difl'erent nature
from — though generally somewhat more powerful than —
himself, we shall at once see that many animals, such as
the bear or elephant, fulfil in a great measure his con-
ception of a deity.

This is still more completely the case with nocturnal
animals, such as the lion and tiger, where the effect is
heightened by a certain amount of mystery. As the
savage, crouching at night by his camp-fire, listens to
the cries and roars of the animals prowling about, or
watches them stealing like shadows round and round
among the trees, what wonder if he weaves mysterious
stories about them ? And if in his estimate of animals
he errs in one direction, we perhaps have fallen into
the opposite extreme.

As an object of worship, however, the serpent is
pre-eminent among animals.'^ Not only is it malevolent
and mysterious, but its bite — so trifling in appearance
and yet so deadly, producing fatal effects rapidly, and
apparently by no adequate means — suggests to the
savage almost irresistibly the notion of something
divine according to his notions of divinity. There were
also some lower but powerful, considerations which
tended greatly to the development of serpent- worship.
The animal is long-lived and easily kept in captivity ;
hence the same individual might be])reserved for along
time, and easily exhibited at intervals to tiie multitude.

' Latham, Pes. Ethncl. vol. i.
p. a64.

'' Deane's Worship of tlie Serpent
traced throughout the World.

SE TiPENT. WOlt'Sn IP

lm;..

In other res])ects, the ser|>ent is ti eonveiiient "od. Tims
in Guinea, where the sea and the serpent were tlie j)rin-
cipal deities, the priests, as liosnian ex])ressly tells us,
encoura«;ed offerings to the serpent rather than to the
sea, because, in the latter ease, 'there luippens no
' remainder to be left for them.' '

Mr. Feriiiisson, in his work on Tree and Serpent-
worshi)), lias suggested that the l>eauty of the serpent,
or the brilliancy of its eye, had a part amon«^ the
causes of its original deification. 1 cannot, however,
agree with him in th's. Nor <^o I believe that serpent-
worship is to be traced up to any common local origin ;
but, on the contrary, that it sprang up spontaneously in
many phnces, and nt very different times. In considering
the wide distribution of serpent- worshij), we must re-
member that in the case of the serpent we apply one
name to a whole order of animals ; and that serpents
occur all over the world, except in very cold regions.
On the contrary, the lion, the bear, the bull, have less
extensive areas, and consecpiently their worship could
never be so general. If, however, we compnre, as we
ought, serpent-worship with quadruped-worship, or
bird-worship, or sun-worshi}), we shall lind ihat it has
no exceptionally wide area.

Mr. Fergusson, like })revious writers, is sur])rised to
find that the ser[)ent-g()d is frecpiently regnrtled as a
beneficent being. Miiller, in his Scientific Mythology,
has endeavoured to account for this i)y the statement
thnt the serpent ty})itied not only Ixu'ren. im})ure
nature, but also youth and health. This is not, I
think, the true explanaticm. It may be that the serpent-

' Piukei'toii, vol. xvi. p. WO.

.< 'M

.•;^a

I ,

! i

' > ' i

'/■;»

;; ''•!>

'■♦?

■ '- ' ;

^■■'4

^ !*:!

2<;c

ASIA. AFmCA.

gofl comTTicnccrl as a malevolent being, who was flat-
tered, as cruel rulers always are, and that, in process of
time, this flattery, which was at first the mere expres-
sion of fear, came to be an article of faith. If, however,
the totemic origin of serpent-worship, as above sug-
gested, be the coi-rect one, the serpent, like other totemic
deities would, from its origin, have a benevolent
character.

As mentioned in Mr. Fergusson's work, the serpent
was worshi])ped anciently in Egypt,^ in India," Phoe-
nicia,*'' I)abylonia,^ Greece"'' as well as in Italy,'"' where,
however, it seems not to have prevailed much. Among
the Lithuanians ' every family entertained a real serpent
' as a household god.' ^

Passing on to those cases in which the serpent is
even now worshipped, or was so until lately, we find in
Asia evidence of serpent- worship, in Persia,** Cashmere,^
Cambodia, Thibet, ^^ India, ^^ China (traces),'''^ Ceylon,'*^
and among the Kalmucks.^** In Africa the serpent was
worshi]i])ed in some parts of I ])per Egypt,'" and in

' Herodotus, ]']iiterpe, 74.

' Tertulliaii, De Pivscript. Ilere-
ticoniin, c. xlvii. Epiplianius, lib.
1 Hcres. xxxvii. p. 207, el Keq.

•' Etisoltiua, Pi'iP. 1-van., vol. i. p.
0. Maurice, Ind. Antiq. vol. vi. p.
27.'}.

' Bell and Drapron, v. 23.

* Pausanias, vol. ii. pp. 137, 175,
yElian, De Animal, xvi. 39. Hero-
dotus, viii. 41.

« yElian, Var. Hist. ix. p. 10.
Profertius, Elefr. viii. p. 4. Deane,
00. cit., p. 253.

^ Lord Karnes' History of Man,
vol. iv. p. 103. Deane, loc, nf.
p. 240.

^ MopTuil, 150; NVindiscliniann,
37 ; Shall Nanieh, Atliinson's trans-
lation, p. 14.

^ Asiatic lies. vol. xv. pp. 24, 25.
Aj-een Aliliaree, Gladwin's trans., p.
137.

"^ Hiouen-Thsang, vol i. p. 4.

" Fergusson's Tree and Serpent
Worship, p. 50.

'■^ Ibid. p. 51.

'' Hi>tory and Doctrine of Budd-
hism in Ceylon, Upliam.

'■* Klemm, Cult, der Mens. vol.
iii. p. 202.

'* Pococke, Piukerton's Voyages,
vol. XV. p. 201».

lor.

^■'<««v.

GUINEA. WIlYJhiir.

»/

I'i

was

(1 in

Abyssina.^ A!non<^ the nou^rocs on tlie Oninca Coast
it used to be tlie principal deity. '^ Smith in liis voyage
to Guinea,^ says that tlie natives ' are all paji^ans, and
' worship three sorts of dieties. The first is a larj]^e,
' beautiful kind of snake, which is inoffensive in its nature.
'These are kept in fittish-houses, or churches, built for
' that purpose in a urove, to whom they saci-ifice oTcat
' store of hojrs. sheep, fowls, and «^'«'ats, i.^-c., and if not
' devoured by the snake, are sure to be taken care of by
' the fetishnien or pa^an priests.' From Liberia to lien-
guela, if not farther, the serpent was the principal deity,'*
and, as elsewhere is re^i'arded as beinjj on the whole bene-
ficent. To it the natives resort in times of drouirbt and
sickness, or other calamities. No nei^ro would intention-
ally injure a serpent, and anyone doin«^' so 1)y accident
would assuredly be ])ut to death. All over tlui country
are small huts, built on purjmse for tlu^ snakes,'' which
are attended and fed by old women. These snakes are
frequently consulted as oracles.

In addition to those small huts were temj^les, which,
judged by a negi'o standard, were of considerable niag-
nificence,'' witli large courts, spacious apartments, and
numerous attendants. Each of these temples had a
special snake. That of AVhydah was supposed to have
appeared to the army during an attack on Ardra. It
was regarded as a presage of victory, which so encour-

! i

>; .

i '

'. 1 ; ;

t • ;

oyagep

' Pillmann in Zeitsch. der Mor-
jrenlamlischen Gesells. vol. vii. p.
33S. Ludolf. Couiniont. vol. iii.
p. 284 ; Bruce's Travel.**, vol. iv. p.

* Astley's Voyages, vol. iii. p.
480; Burton, vol. ii. p. 139; Smith,
lue. (it. p. 195; Buvton's Daliome,

vol. i. p. 94.

^ Smith's Voyage t<t (riiiiK'n, p.
195, See also liosninn, Pinkfrton's
Voyages, vol. xvi. p. 1S4, cf scq.

' liosniaii, loc. cit. pp. 494-4!l9.
Smith, li>c. vif. p. 195.

* Astli-y, lo>\ cit. pp. 27, 32.

'■ Ihiil p. 29.

. 0(

'■m

2G8

AGOYE, Tin: liyVKll (H' WHYDAJl.

r--

aged tlie .soldiers tluit tliey were perfectly siicecHsful.
Hence tlds fetich was i-evcrciMcd beyond all others,

rifi. iM.

rAiW^ ^'-^ of ^'o'lnj ^

ACioVK, AN 11)01, OF wiiVKAJi. (Astlev's ( 'ollcctioii of \<iva<j-os.J

and an annual ])ilL>rimaiie was made to its temple
with much ceremon3^ It is rather suspicious that any

AM /<7'7iM /.7/1 . MA I hi ( i. I S( \ I /.'.

:it;o

hers,

ni]

^le

yoiin;!^ womoii who iiuiy he ill an^ tjikcu olV to tho snake's
house to he cimumI. Vwv this <|iiestionahl(' service the
attendants charge a hi;;h price to the parents.

It is ohservahle tluit tlu* harmless snakes only are
thus worshipped. ' Au'oye,' the fetich of W hydah,
which has seroents and lizards coinin«x out of its head '
(lii^-. Ill), presents a reinarkahle similarity to some of
the Hindoo idols. IJy the 12th article of a treaty made
HO recently as 18.i(> hy the IJritish consul for l^iafra
and Fernando Po, British suhjects are expressly for-
bidden to kill or injure a certain species of snake which
is held sacred hy the nation.

Snakes, says Schweinfurtii, ' are the only creatures
• to which either Dinka or Shillooks (Ui)per Nile Kc-
'<>ion) pay any sort of reverence."'*

The Kaffirs of South Africa have a general belief
that the spirits of their ancestors ap[)ear to them in the
fonu of seq)ents.''

Kllis mentions that in Madagascar the natives re-
gard serpents ' with a sort of superstition.' *

In Feejee, ' the god ^ most generally known is
' Xdengei, who seems to he an impersonation of the
' abstract idea of eternal existence. He is the subject
'of no emotion or sensation, nor any ap[)etite except
'hunger. The serpent — the worhl-wide synd)ol of
' eternity — is his adopted shrine. Some traditions
' represent him with the head and part of the body of

' Atifley, lor. rif. vol. iii. p. oO.

'^ Heart of Africa, vol. i. p. 158.

■' Casali-s" Basutos, p. 240. Cliap-
inan's Travels, vol, i. p. 195. Calla-
way's Reli|:ious Sy.stem of the Ama-

Livin^'stone's Exp. to the Zaiubt*.*!,
p. 4('..

' Three Visits to Madagascar, p.
14.}.

^ Fiji and the Fijians, vol, ii. p.

'<:S i

Zulu. Arboussi>t, loi: cit. p. 138. -M7,

270

rOLYS'NSlA. JMUUICA.

* tliut reptili!, tlio rest of his forni hciii;*' Ktonc, cirilflciu-
'iitic of everlasting^ niid mi<'h5in<^a'iil)l(' duration. He
'passes u monotonous existence in a ^dooniy cavern;
' evincin;^ no interest in anyone but his attendant, Uto,

* and ^ivin^ no signs of life heyond eating', answering
' liis priest, and changing his position from one side to
' the other.'

In the Friendly Ishuids the water snake was much
respected.^

In America serpents were worshipped by the Aztecs,"'*
Peruvians,* Natchez,'* Caribs,^ Monitarris," Mandans,'
Tatur,^ Tueblo Indians," &c.

Alvarez, during his attem})t to reach Peru from
Paraguay, is rei)orted '^ to have seen the ' temple and
' residence of a monstrous scrj cut, whom the inhabit-
' ants had choscri for their divinity, and fed witli
' human flesh, lie was a ' thick as an ox, and seven-
' aud-tweiity feet long, with a very large head, and
' very fierce though small eyes. His jaws, when ex-
' tended, displayed two ranks of crooked fangs. The
' whole body, except the tail, which was smooth, wjis
' covered with round scales of a great thickness. The
' Si)aniards, though th(;y could not be persuaded by
' the Indians that this monster delivered oracles, were
' exceedingly terrilied at the first sight of him ; and

' Mariuer, vol. ii. \\ 100. ^ Ihid. p. i>i>l.

'^ Squier's Serpent Sviubol in *^ Klemni, vol. ii. p. lOli.

America, p. 102. Oaiua, iJuscripcion ^ Ibid. p. KJi?.

Ilistnrica y Cronoloirica de \p.» I'e- ^ Power's Amer, Ethn. vol. iii.

drus do Mexico, Ifili'J, p. JJi' ; BtTiial p. 144.
Diaz, p. li*5. '■' Molliauseii, Tour to tlie I'acilic,

^ Mul.'er, Geti. d. Amer. Urrelijri- vol. i. p. 204.
onen, p. 3( 0. Garcilasao de la Vega, '° Charlevoix's History of I'ara-

V. i. p. 48. guay, vol. i. p. 1 10.

* Ibid. p. '&J.

TllL' W'U'iSlUV OF OTHEli AMMALS.

271

' their terror was ^^rcatly increased when on one of
' them havin;^ tired a hhinderhiiss at him, he ;^avt' a
' roar like tliat of a lion, and with a stroke of his tail
' shook the wlu^le towiT.*

The worship of serpents bein«]^ so wi«lely distril)iited
and presentin;^' so many similar features, we cannot
wonder that it has been re<>*arded as somethin;^ s[H'eial,
that attempts have been made; to trace it U[) to one
>()in*ce, and that it has been regtu'ded by some as the
pi'mitivt.' religion of man.

I will now, however, proceed to mention other cases
of zoolatry.

Animal-worship was very prevalent in America.^
file Redskins reverenced the bear,'- the bison, the
hare,'* and the wolf,"* and some species of birds.^ The
jaguar was worshi[)ped in some parts of lirazil, and
es[)ecially in La Plata." In South America birds and
jaguars seem to have been the sj)ecially sacred animals.
The owl ill Mexico was regarded as an evil spirit ; ' in
South America toads,** eagles, and gcKitsuckers were
much venerated.^ The Abipones ^^ think that certain
little ducks ' which fly about at night, uttering a mourn-
'ful hiss, are the souls of the departed.'

In Yucatan it was customary to leave an infant
alone in a place sprinkled with ashes. Next morning
the ashes were examined, and if the footprints of any

i<HfJid

I-

V>. ■ I.'. ;

I .

'. 'I

1 Miillor, Am. Urr. p. 00, et seq.
■ Ibid. p. Gi.

^ Schoolcrart, vol. i. p. "ilO.
' Miiller, loc. cit. p. '2o7,
'■• Ibid. p. 1;.U. Klomiii, loc. tit.
vol. ii. p. 104.

'' Miillur, loc. cit. p. I'uO.

^ Prefjcott, vol. i. ]). 48.

■• Dupons, Tr. in Soutli America,
vol. i. p. ]!)8.

'' Miill.T, Amer. ihv. p. 237.

'" iJobritzholler, Hist, of tlio
Aljipoues, vol. ii. p. 74.

I •.■■ 1

: *'■''♦!

PtthYSHSIA

nniiiml wow ioiiiid on tlicm, it wiis clioscn hk tlif (\v.\ty
of tlu' infant.'

rii(! H<'!ni-(;ivilis('(l races oj' Mexico^ an'l IVtii W(;rc
more a'lvanct'd in their reli^ioiiH concfptions. in tin;
latter tlie sun was tlie <»rej»t deity.*' Vet in I*erii,'
even at tin; time of tlie ('on(|Mest, many species of
animals were still mneli reverenced, inclnding' the fox,
do,L(, llama, condor, ea^le, and pinna, lu-sides the serpent,
and various species of lish. I'rom these animals the
various families of Indians were considered to be
(leHeen«led,''' and (.'aeh species was suppose«l to have a
repi*es(!ntative, or archetype, in iieavisn.'' In Mcixico a
similar feelinj^ prevailed, hut neither here nor in
l*eru can it truly be said that aninnds at the time
of tlu^ c{)n<piest were nationally re<^arded as actual
deities.

The Polynesians, also, bad «j;'enerally advanced be-
ycmd the sta<»'e of totemism. The beavenly bodies
were not worshipped, and, when animals were regarded
with veneration, it was rather as re})rcsentatives of the
deities, than with the i<lea that they were really deities.
Still, the Tahitians ' had a superstitious reverence for
various kinds of lish and birds, such as the heron,
kingH slier, jmd wv)od[)ecker ; the latter a})parently
because they frequented the temples.

The Sandwich Islanders ^ seem to have regarded the

i ',.

' De Brosses, Dii Ciilte dus
Dicux Fdticlies, p. 40.

* Miiller, /or. cif.. p. 48t.
^ Prescotts History of Peru, p.

88.

■« Miiller, p. 366. Garcilasso de p. 203.
la ^'ega, vol i. pp. 47, 168. » Cook's Third Vovage, vol. iii.

* Garcilasso de la Vega, vol. i. p. 160.

p. to,

•* Prescott's History of Peru, p.
H7. Garcilasso de la Vega, vol. i. j).
176.

' Polynesian Researches, vol. ii.

I. i>.

A/;ir /j:.iL.\\n. lun^sHsiA.

'27.1

nivon as sncriMl,' ni.il \\w. New /< Jilniplcrs, iu'cnnlinir (o
I'Orstcr, rc^anldd a sjucii's of trcc-crct'iH'i' an tlic ' l»inl
' of till! divinity.'* TIio 'rniiufiiiis cniisidcn'd tliiit \\\v
deities ' Hometiines cniiie into tlie liviiiLi' i»odies of li/.ards,
' poi'[)oises, and a species of water-sn.ike ; lienee tln'se
' animals are nmeli respected.' ' At Tiikopia the shark
was rei^arded as a divinity.'* Tlie Kini^smill Island-
ers also worshipped certain kinds offish.''

The liishop of Wellington informs ns that ' spiders
' were specijd ohjeets of reverence to ^^aoris ; and, as (he
' prie.sts fnrther told them that the sonls of (lie fiiihfnl
' went to heaven on j^ossamer threa<Is, they were very

any spiders' wehs, or <^ossainers.

' carefnl not to hreak
' Lizards were also supposed to he chosen by the Maori
* j{ods as favourite abodes.' •* ^foeiuhe, a chief of
Vanikoro, re^^irded a oral) as his Atua.'^

The Ifervey Islanders worshipped various animals
as messen<!:ers or incarnations of the •••ods.'^

In the Feejee Island.-, '■* besides the serpent, ' cei'tain
'birds, fish, and j)lants, iuid some men, are supposed to
'have deities closely connected with or residin;^ in
' them. At Lakemba, Tui Iiakeni])a, and on \'anua
' Levu, Havuravn, claim the hawk as their abode ;
' Viavia, and other gods, the shark. ( )ne is suj>[)osed to
' inhabit the eel, and another the common fowl, and so
'on, until nearly every animal becomes the shrine of

■iiHi

;

Conk's Voya}.'e to tho I'afilic,

Vii

1. iii.

p. KM.
nvfipe roll 111.

I the. World, vol.

i. p. .JlO.

' Mariner, /or. dt. vol. ii. p. 100.
Ht'v. flWiithrop, 1S7(>, p. I'OS.

" Trans, lltliii. S,.c. I>7<>, p. ;;(;7,
^ \W\, dWiitliinp. |x7t!, p. -'i!7.
** (iill, .Myths of tht! Smith
I'acilic, )). JO.

Williams" I'iii and tho I'iiians,

vol. i. p.

!!!».

I.I
St.'oniann

.Mi>

I'lll to

» Flak', Ktbn. of tlio IJ. S. Viti, p. .'HL'.
E.xpl. Kxp. p. '.J7.

274

SIBERIA. CHINA. INDIA.

f -

i^M

i! W:

' some deity. He wlio worsliips the god dwelling in

* the eel must never eat of that lisli, and thus of the
' rest ; so that some are tabu from eating human flesli,
' because the shrine of their god is a man.' The
octopus was Avorsliipped in the Penrhyn Ishinds, tlie
bat in Samoa, and elsewhere the tree-crab, the centi-
pede, and other animals.

In Sil)eria Erman mentions that ' tlie Polar bear, as
' the stronii'est of God's creatures, and that which seems
' to come nearest to the human being, is as much vene-

* rated by the Samoyedes as his black congener by tlie
' Ostyaks. They even swear by the throat of this
' strong animal, whom they kill and eat ; but when it is
' once killed, they show their res[)i!ct for it in various
' ways.' ^

I'^.ach tribe of the dakuts ' look on some particular
' creature as sacred, e.</. a swan, goose, raven, &c., and
' such is not eaten by that tribe, though the others may
' uat it.' '■'' The same feeling extends even to plants ; and
in China, when the sacred apricot tree is broken to
make the spirit-i)en, it is customary to write an apology
on the bark.*'

The Hindus, says Dubois,"^ ' in all things extrava-
' gant, pay honour and worship, less or more solemn, to
' almost every living creature, whether quadruped, bird,
'or reptile.' The cow, the ape, the eagle (known as
garuda), and the serpent, receive the highest honours ;
but the tiger, elephant, horse, stag, sheep, hog, dog, cat,
rat, peacock, cock, chameleon, lizard, tortoise, fish, and

* Erman, vol. ii. p. '),'). 31iiJler, ^ Tylor, Roy. Inst. Jouni. vol. v.

Dea. (l« toutea les Nat. do TEiup. p. o:?7.
Riisse, pt, i. p. 107. * Loc. lit. p. -l-lo.

- Stralileuberjr, p. 383.

CDYLON. THE VHILIVVINES. AFJilCA.

275

vol. V.

even insects, have been made ol)jects of worship. Tlie
ox is held especially sacred throughout most of India
and Ceylon. Among the Todas^ the ' bufl'aloes and })ell
'are fused into an incomprehensible mystic whole, or
' unity, and constitute their prime object of adoration
' and worshi}).' . . . . ' Towards evening tlie herd is
' driv^en back to the tuel, when such of the male and
' female members of the family as are present assemble,
' and make obeisance to the animals.'

Dr. Anderson found the worship of the horse and
the snake interwoven with the liuddhism of the Shans
of West Yunan.'^ The goose is worshipped in Ceylon,^
and the alligator in the Philippines.

The ancient Egyptians were greatly addicted to
animal-worship, and even now Sir S. Baker states that
on the White Nile the natives will not eat the ox.*
The common fowl also is connected with su})erstitious
ceremonies among the Obbo and other Nile tribes.''

' The tiger,' says Dalziel, ' is the Fetish of Dahomy.'^

The King of Ardra, on the Guinea Coast, had cer-
tain black birds for his fetiches,'^ and the neiiToes of
Benin also reverence severid kinds of birds. The
neirroos of Guinea regard^ 'the sword-fish and the
' bonito as deities, and such is their veneration for them
' that they never catch either sort designedly. If a
' sword-Hsh hai)[)cn to be taken 1)y chance, they will
'not eat it till the sword be cut oft', which, when dried,

' Trans. Kthn. Soc, X.S., vol.
vii. pp. 'jrA), '2ry,]. Soo also Etiin.
Jouni. l8Gi), p. !»?.

■^ Expoditi ,11 to Western Yunau
lid IJhauio, p. 115.

^ Tenuoat's Ceylon, vol. i. p.
481.

' Alliort N'yaiiza, vol. i. p. (!!>.

'^ IJaker, loc. cit, vol. i. p. IV27.

** Hist, of Daliomy, p. vi.

" Astley'.s CoUtsction of Voy.jres,
vol. iii. i)p. 12, Jl!>.

•* A.slley, vol. ii. p. ()()7. Jiiir-
tou'a Dahonie, v. ii. j)p. 1 lo, 148.

•• ■'•If. -

>•:" !'•■

.'S

T 2

27(3

MA DAGASOAR. EUUOVE.

1 i

* tliey regard as a fctkxo.'' They also regard tlie croco-
dile as a deity. On tlie Giiinea Coast, says Bosnian, ' a
' ureat i)art of tlic netjcrocs believe tliat man was made
' by Anansie : that is, a great spider.' ^ In South Africa
the Malekutiis and some Bnperis worship the [)orcupine,
while other ]>a[)eris regard a monkey as their tutelary
deity.'"*

In Madngascar, l*]llis '' tells us that the natives regard
crocodiles ' as possessed of supernatural power, invoke
' their forbearance with prayers, or seek protection by
' charms, rather than attack them ; even the shaking of
' a spear over the waters would 1:0 regarded as an act
' of sacrilegious insult to the sovereii'n of the flood, im-

* perilling the life of the olFender the next time he
' should venture on the water.'

The nations of Southern JMu'o[)e had for the most
Y^art advanced beyond animal-worship even in the
earliest historical tiuies. The extraordinary sanctity
attributed, in the Twelfth Odyssey, to the oxen of the
sun, stands almost alone in Greek mythology, and is
renrarded by Mr. Gladstone as of Pha>nician ori^jin. It
is true that the horse is s[)oken of with mysterious
respect, and that deities on several occasions assumed
the form of birds ; but this does not amount to actual
worship.

The deihcation of animals explains proba])ly the
curious fact that various savage races habitually a[)olo-
gise to the annuals which they kill in the chase ; thus,
the Vogulitzi ' of Siberia, when they have killed a bear,

• Pinkerton, loc. vit. vol. xvi. p. ]>. 207. See also Siljree, loc. cif.

.306. i>. in;}.

^ Arbouspet, lor. vit. p. 170.

' Stralilenk'm's Vovay-e to Si-

^ Three \'i6its to .Madagascar, beria, p. 07.

AMERICA.

277

address it formidly, and maintain 'that tlie Llamo is to
'be laid on the arrows and iron, wliicli were made and
'forged by the Kiissians.' Tlie same cnstom exists
among tlie Ostyaks,* the Samoyeds,'^ and the Ainos of
Yesso.^ Schoolcraft ' mentions a case of an Indian on
the shores of Lake Superior begging pardon of a bear
wliicli he had shot.

l>efore engaging in a hnnt tlie Chippeways have a
' medicine ' dance in order to pro})itiate the spirits of
the bears or other game.^ The Sioux, Minnitarees,
and Mandans had a very shuilar custom. So also in
British Columbia,^ when the fishing season commences,
and the fisli begin coming up the rivers, the Indians
used to meet them, and ' speak to them. They paid
' court to them, and would address them thus : " You
' " fish, you fish ; you are all chiefs, you are ; you are
' " all chiefs." '

Among the Northas, when a bear is killed it is
dressed in a bonnet, covered with fine down, and
solemnly invited into the chief's presence.^

The Koussa Kaffirs ^ had a very similar custom.
' Ik'fore a ]>arty goes out hunting, a very odd cei'cmony
' or sport takes place, which they consider as absolutely
' necessary to ensure success to the undertaking. ( )ne
' of them takes a handful of grass into his moulli, and
' crawds about upon all-fours to represent some sort of
' game. The rest advance as if they would run him

' CatlinV Amor. liul. vol. ii. p.

' Voyages, vol. iv. p. 80.

^ Ik' Brosses, Dieux Fetiches, p.
CI.

^ Trans. Ktbn. Sec, N.S., vol. iv.
p. 30.

* Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes,
vol. iii. p. L^29.

LM8.

« Motlahkatlnh, p. !Kj.

' Bancroft, lor. df. \(;1. i.p. 187.

^ Liclitunstein's Travels, vol. i.
p. 2G0. Shooter, The Kafirs of
Natal, p. 210,

'iff:

■'■■M

278

THE CUSTOM OF ArOLOGISlNO

ti ? M

through with their spears, raising the liimting cry, till
at lengtli lie falls upon the ground as if dead. If this
man afterwards kills a head of j^ame, he hanns a claw
upon his arm as a trophy, but the animal nnist be
shared with the rest.' Lichtenstein also mentions
that ' if an elephant is killed after a very long and
wearisome chase, as is commonly the case, they seek
to exculpate themselves towards the dead animal, by
declaring to Inm solemnly, that the thing hap[)ene(l
entirely by accident, not by design.' ^ To make the
apology more complete, they cut off the trunk and bury
it carefully with much flattery.

Speaking of a Mandingo who had killed a lion. Gray
says : '^ 'As J was not a little surprised at seeing the
' man, who I conceived ought to be rewarded for
' having first so disabled the animal as to prevent it
' from attacking us, thus treated, I requested an ex-
' planation ; and was informed that, being a subject

* only, he was guilty of a great crime in killing or

* shooting a sovereign, and must suffer this punishment
' until released by the chiefs of the village, who, know-
' ing the deceased to have been their enemy, would not
' only do so immediately, but commend the man for his
' good conduct. I endeavoured to no purpose to find

* out the origin of this extraordinary mock ceremony,
' but could only gain the answer, frequently given by an
' African, " that his forefathers had always done so." '

The Steins of Cambodia'' believe that ' animals also
' have souls which wander about after their death ; thus

' Lichtenstein's Travels, vol. i.
p. 254.

'^ Gray's Travels in Western
Africa, p. 143.

^ ^Fouliot's Travels in the ('en-
tral l*arts of Indo-Ohiiia, vol. i. p.
252.

TO ANIMALS FOR KILLING THEM.

271)

* when tlicy liavc killed one, fonriii;^' lest its soul slioiild
'come and torment them, they ask [)ardon for the evil
' they have done to it, and otter sacrihces proportioned
' to the strength and size of the animal.'

The Sumatra ns sjMak of tigers^ with a deorce of

* awe, and hesitate to call them hy their common name
' (rimau or machang), teruiing them respectfully satwa
' (the wild animals), or even nenek (ancestors) ; as
' really believing them such, or l)y way of soothing and
' coaxing them. When an European procures tra})s to
'be set, by means of persons less superstitions, th.

' inhabitants of the neighbourhood have been known to
'go at night to the place, and practise some forms, in
' order to persuade the animals that it was not laid by
' them, or with their consent.'

The deification of injinimate objects seeiiis at first
somewhat more difficult to understand than that of
animals. The names of individuals, however, would ])e
taken not only from animals, but also from inanimate
objects, and would thus, as suggested at p. 2G0, lead to
the worship of the latter as well as of the former. Some,
moreover, are singularly lifelike. No one, I ihink, can
wonder that rivers should ha^•e l)ccn regarded as livino;.
The constant movement, the rip})les and eddies on their
surface, the vibrations of the reeds and other water
plants, the murmuring and gurgling sounds, the clear-
ness and transparency of the water, condjine to produce
a singular effect on the mind even of civilised man.

Seneca long ago observed, that ' if you Avalk in a
'grove, thick planted with ancient trees of unusual

^J!i

' Marsden's Hist, of Sumatra, p. 292. See also Depnun, Travels in
S. America, vol. i. p. 199.

280

SAVAGE TJJNDEXCy TO DEIFICATION.

* ffrowth, the iiitcrwovon l)()n!»lis of whidi exeliidi' the
'light of lieaven ; t\w vast heii»lit of tlic avo()<1, the
' reth'ed secivcy of tlic place;, the deep unbroken <j;looiu

* of shade, impress your mind with the conviction of a
' i)rescnt deity.'

The s!jva*^e also is snsce])til)le to such influences, and
is naturally prone to ])ersonify not only rivers but also
other inanimate object*.

Who can wonder at the worship of the sun, moon,
and stars, which has been re<»;arded us a special form of
religion, and is known as Subtuism ? It does not, how-
ever, in its original form, essentially differ from moun-
tain or river-worshi[). To us, with our knowdedge of
astronomy, the sun-worship naturally seems a more
sublime Ibrm of religion, but we nmst remember that
the lower races who worship the heavenly bodies have
no idea of their distance nor, consequently, of their mag-
nitude. Nay, the very distance and magnitude of the
sun, combined with the regularity of its course, rendered
it the less likely to be selected by the lowest races of
men as an object of Avorship. lleligion is not with them
a dee}) feeling of the soul, but a profound fear of
some inniiediate evil, a desire for some inunediate
good. Hence the savage worships something which is
close to him, something which he can see and hear ; and
the lawless, turbulent action of the sea gives him more
the impression of life and energy than the regular and
stately movements of the heavenly bodies. Even when
these are w^orshipped, it is in entire ignorance of their
real magnitude and grandeur. The peo})le of Chincha,
in Peru, worshipped the sea rather than the sun, ' which
' did them no good at all, but rather annoyed them by

DEITIES NOT SUJ'rOSEh TO HE SUPEIiXATUhW L. -JSl

'its excessive lieat.' ' Hence the curious idejis with
ret'ereiice to eclipses wliicli I liave already iiKiilioiied
(|). 22!)). A«;ain, in ilhistralion of the same fact, the
New Zealanders helieved that IMawe, their ancestor,
can<^ht the sun in a noose, and wonnded it so severely
that its movements have been sl(»\ver, and the <layscoij-
se<juently longer, ever since."^ According' to another
accoinit, Mawe ' tied a strinti; to the siui and fastened
'it to the nioon, that as the former went down, the
' other, })cing pulled after it by the superior ])ower of
' the sun, may rise and i^ave light during his absence.' ■'
A very similar story also occurs in Samoa.'*

We mnst always bear in mind that the savage
notion of a deity is essentially dilferent from that enter-
tained by higher races. Instead of being supernatural, he
is merely a part of nature. This goes far to explain the
tendency to deification which at first seems so strange.

A g-ood illustration, and one which shows how easily
deities are created by men in this frame of mind, is
mentioned by Lichtenstein. The king of the Koussa
Kaffirs having broken oft" a })iece of a stran<led anchor,
died soon afterwards, u])on which all the Kallii's looked
u})on the anclior as alive, and sainted it respectfully
whenever they passed near it.'^ Again, the natives
near Sydney made it an invariable ride nciver to whistle
when beneath a particular clifi", because on one occasion
a rock fell from it, and crushed some natives who were
whistlinir underneath it."

t. :,

::V

' Ciarcilas.so de la Vega, vol. i.
p. 140.

•^ Polynesian Mytliolopy, p. 35.

^ Yate, lop. cit. p. 143. '

■• Turner's Nineteen Yeare in

Polynesia, p. 248.

'" Travels, vol. i. p. '2')\.

*^ Collins' I'inirlishColonv in N. S.
Walt'?, p. u.--:.'.

282 LIFE ATTRinUTED TO JNANUTATE OBJECTS.

\ r

II i

A very interest in;^ cnse is rooorded l)y Mr. Kct-
gussoii.^ ' The fbllowiuo- jnstjince of trce-worsliip,' lie
says, ' wliicli I myself witnessed, is {innising, even if not
instrnctive. While residing in Tessore, I observed at
one time considerable crowds passing near tlie factory
I then had charge of. As it niiglit be merely an ordi-
nary fair they jverc going to attend, I took no notice ;
but as the crowd grew daily larger, and assumed a
more religious character, I inquired, and was told that
a god had appeared in a tree at a place about six miles
off. Next morninof I rode over, and found a larne
space cleared in a village I knew well, in the centre of
which stood an old decayed date tree, hung with gar-
lands and offerings. Around it houses were erected
for the attendant Brahmins, and a great deal of busi-
ness was going on in offerings and Puja. On my
inquiring how the god manifested his presence, I was
informed that soon after the sun ro^3C in the morning
the tree raised its head to welcome him, and bowed it
down again when he departed. As this was a miracle
easily tested, I returned at noon and found it was so !
After a little study and investigation the mystery
did not seem difficult of explanation. The tree had
originally grown across the principal pathway through
the village, but at last hung so low that, in order to
enable people to pass under it, it had been turned
aside and fastened parallel to the road. In the opera-
tion the bundle of fibres which composed the root had
become twisted like the strands of a rope. When the
morning sun struck on the upper surface of these, they
contracted in drying, and hence a tendency to lui-

' Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 74.

'■2-10.

LIFE ATTRnWTl'U) TO IXAMMATE OliJECTS. 2S:J

ed it
Hiraclc

' twist, which raised the head of the tree. With the
' eveniii«^ (Uiws tliey rehiX('(l, and the head nf the tree
'declined, thus ])r()vini»' to tlie man of science jis to the
* credulous Hindu that it was due to the direct action
' of the Sun God.'

The savage, indeed, accounts for all movement by
life.' Jlence the wind is a living being. Nay, even
motionless objects are regarded in a particuhu* stage of
mental progress as possessing spirits. The Karens
believe that every object has its special spirit.- The
chief of Teah could hardly be persuaded but that
Lander's watch was alive and had the power of moving.'
It is probably for this reason that in most languages
inanimate objects are distinguished by genders, being at
first rci»:arded as either male or female. Hence also the
practice of breaking or burning the weapons, c^c, buried
with the dead.'* Thus, the Wotyaks of Siberia are said
to break the knife which they generally bury with
the dcad.^ Franklin records it of Cliippewayans, and
a similar custom prevails among the Tinneh, and
other North American tribes. It is possible that in
some cases the destruction of the property of the
deceased may simply have arisen from a dislike to
use articles which have belonged to the dead. In
other instances this is certainly not the case. Thus,
among the fishermen of Lob Nor in Central Asia,
according to Col. Prejevalsky, when a man dies half
his nets are buried with him, half being retained by his

' Dogs appear to do tbe saiue. John's Hill Tribes of Aracan. Joiirii.

Anthrop, Inst. vol. ii. p. 28.S.
Shooter, Kafirs of Natal, p. 101.

^ Carttxilhac, Mat. pour aervir a
rilist. de rilouime, 1870, p. 88.
Tiiving-sl one's Zamljesi, p. o-i'i.

* The Karens of the Gold
Chersonese, p. 121.

^ Niger Expedition, vol. ii. p.
220.

... I

if !

281

SOULS ArviiinvTiU) to

lu'ir. It lias Ix'cn (rcnorally siipposed tluit lliis dcslnic-
tioii <)(' tlic ohji'cts hiiricd with tlif dead was merely to
prevent tlieiii I'min beiii^i^ a temptation to robhers. This
is not so, liowever ; sava<»('s do not invade the sanclity
of the tomb, dust, however, as they kill a maJi's wives
and slaves, liis favourite horse or don-, that they m;iy
aeeomjjany hini to the other world, so do they ' kill '
the weaj>ons, that the spirits of tlu* hows, &c., may also
<(o witli their master, and that he may enter the other
worM armed as a chief should he. 'J'hus the Tahitians'
believed ' that not only all other animals, but trees,
' fruit, and even stones, have souls Avhieli at death, or
' upon being consumed or broken, ascend to the divinity,

* with wdiom they first mix, and afterwards pass into
' the mansion allotted to each.' 'J1ie IJtes Indians also
destroyed the ])roperty of the dead, and then buried it
withhim.^

The Fcejecans^ considered that 'if an animal or a
' plant die, itf^' soul immediately goes to Bolotoo ; if a
' stone or any other substance is broken, innnortality is

* e(|ually its reward ; nay, artificial bodies have ecjual
' good luck with men, and hogs, and yams. If an axe

* or a chisel is worn out or broken up, away flies its
' soul for the service of the gods. If a house is taken
' down, or any way destroyed, its innnortal part will
' find a situation on the plains of I>olotoo.'

The Finns believed that all inanimate objects had
their ' haltia,' or soul.*

' Cook's Third Voyage, vol. ii.
p. IGG.

^ Yarrow, Mortuary Customs
among the North American Indians,
p. 31.

^ Mariner, loc, cit. vol. ii. p. lo7.
Socniann's Mission to V'iti, pp. 3'Ji^

398.

18:

C'astreu. Finn. Myth. pp. 170,

JXAMMATI': oiuHcrs.

•)yi\

8."»

o 1

Sproat,' s[)ciikiM;^' of X. W. Ariicrica, says tliat
' wlicn tlu; (lead arc; hiiriod, tlio iV'u iids often Imrn
' l)lank('ts with tlu'iii, for hy destroyini^ tlie hlaiikcts in
' tills upper world, they send them also with the de-
' [)artcd soul to tlu; world helow.'

The Ked Indian, says Col. Dodi^e, perfectly under-
stands that the dead does not actually take to the land
of si)irits the material articles hiu'ied with him, hut
they think that ' the s[)irit of the dead man will have
' the use (jf the phantoms of those articles.' '^

Among- the Hill trihes of India the (i.'U'os hreak the
ohjccts huried with the dead, who ' would not hi'uefit
' hy them if they were <j>'iven uid)roken.' "' In China,*
' if the dead man was a i)erson of note, the lionzes make
' great processions ; the mourners followinj^ them with
' candles and perfumes hurninu; in their hands. They
' offer sacrifices at certain distances, and perform the
' ()hse([uies ; in which they hurn statues of men, women,
' horses, saddles, and other thing's, and ahundance of
' paper money ; all which, they helieve, in the next life,
' are converted into real ones, for the use of the party
' deceased, or in some cases forwarded, in his care, to
' friends who had gone hefore.' ^

Thus, then, hy man in this .stage of progress every-
thing was regarded as luiving life, and heing more or
less a deity.

'Africans, as a rule,' says (*aptain Ihu'ton, ' wor-
' ship everything except the Creator.'^

i J

i. :

pp. I'lJ)

' Sproat 's Scenes and Studit'.s of p. 0/.

Savafre Life, p. 213. * Aptley, vol. iv. p. 04.

- Uodge, Huntinrr Grounds of ■■• Primitive (^iilture, vol. i. p. 44o

the Great West, p. 2S I, •* JJurton's Dahome, vol. ii. p.

3 Dalton's Dus. Vihiu of Bengal, 134.

I-'I

'li-,

280

wousiiiv OF iXASiM.vri: (nui:crs.

in
■ii

fjtMii

III India, says I>iilM>is,' ' a wmian adores \\\v Imskct
' wliicli serves to l)rln<i; or to ]i')l<l lier necessaries, iiiid

* oO'ers saerlliceH to it ; as well as to tlie riee-iiilll, and
' otlier iiii})leineiits that assist lier in lier lioiisclioM
' labours. A car^jenter does tlu! like lioinan'e to iiis

* liatehet, liis adze, and otlier tools ; and likewise oll'ers

* sacrifices to them. A Jiralinian does so to tlie style
' witli Avhich he is f^oin<»* to write ; a soldier to the arms

* he is to use in the held ; a mason to his trowel, and a
' lal)onrer to his j)h)n«;h.' Amoni^'st the Karens every
ohjeet of nature is sup))osed to have its jjfuardian spirit. -

The popular reli<»;ion of the Andean people, says
Mr. Clements Markham,'' ' consisted in the belief that
all thinj^s in nature liad an ideal or soul which ruled
and j^uided them, and to which men might pray for
help.'

In the words of Sir S. liakcr : ^ ' iShouhl the present
history of the country he Avrittcn by an Arab scribe,
the style of the description would be purely that of
the Old Testament, and the various calamities or the
fjjood fortunes that have in the course of nature Ix;-
fallen both the tribes and the individuals would he
recounted either as special visitations of Divine wrath,
or blessings for good deeds performed. If in a dream
a particular course of action is suggested, the Arab
l)elieves that God has spoken and directed him. The
Arab scribe or historian Avould describe the event .'is
the ^^ I'lnce of the Lord" (Kallam el Allah) having
spoken unto the person ; or, that God appeared to

' People of India, p. 37;3. See
also pp. 3S.3, 38(!.

•* M'Mahoii, Karens of the Gold
Chers., p. V2\.

^ Ilitea and Laws of the Incas,
11.

•1 '\

The Nile Tributaries of Aby,-
siuia, by Sir S. W. Baker, p. 130.

Tin:!: woiismr.

2H7

' li'nn ill a «livani an<l " sv/A/, vJirc." Thus, iinicli allow-
' aiicc; wouM Ik; iKMvssaiy, on tlic part of a ICiiropcaii
' reader, for the lii,nirativi! ideas and expressions of the
' people.'

Mr. Fer;j^nssoii, indeeil, regards treci-woi'shij) in as-
sociation with ser[)ent-worsliip as the primitive faitli of
mankind. Mr. Wakc;^ also says: ' How are we to ae-
' count for the Polynesians alsoaflixin;^ a sacred eharae-

* tcr to a spe(;ies of the hanyan, called hy them the ava

* tree, aTid for the satne phenomenon bein^ found amon^
' the African tribes on the Zambesi and the Shire,
' among the negroes of Western C([uatorial Africa, and
' even in Northern Australia? Such a I'act as this can-
' not be accounted for as a mere coincidence.'

Since, however, tree- worship ecpially prevails in
America, wc cannot regard it as any ' evidence of the
' common origin of the various races which practise ' it.
It is, however, one among many illustrations that the
human mind, in its upward progress, everywhere passes
through the same or very similar phases.

Tree-worshi[) formerly existed in Assyria, Greece,'"'
Poland,^ and France. Jn Persia Sir T. Chardin
fre(]uently mentions sacred trees on which were hung
garments, rags, and anuilets ; Tacitus ■* mentions the
sacred groves of Germany, and those of J-lngland arc
familar to everyone. In the eighth century, St. Boniface
found it necessary to cut down a sacred oak ; even re-
cently an oak copse at Loch Siniit, in the Isle of Skye,
was held so sacred that no person would venture to cut

' Cliapters on Man, p. 250.
^ JJauiuciiltu.s der Ilelleiien,
Bf)Uieher. 18oU.

^ Olaus Maf,'nus, Bk. III. ch. i.
* Tacitus, Genuania, ix.

.>> if t]

•'1:1

■■i';l

i^-

■ »

\:h

\-l

<i ,i\

I ; -M^^

■u

288

EUROrhl I'USYVT.

tlic siniillcst In'iincli from it ; ^ and it is said that oak-
worsliip is still })ractisc(l in riivonisi.'"^

Trees were worslup[)c<l by the ancient Celts, and
l)c lirosscs'' even derives the word kirk, now softened
into cluirch, from y^/trc^.v, an oak ; that sjjecies beiii^^ j c-
culiarly sacred. The Lapps also nsed to Avorship trees.*

At the present day tree-worship prevails throui^'hoiit
Central Africa, south of l']<^ypt, and the Sahara.'* TIk;
Shang'allas in 15race's time worshipped 'trees, serpents,
' the moon, planets, and stars.' ^

The date tree, says Burckhardt, ' was worshippe<l by
' the tribe Khozaa ; and the Henit Thekyf adored the
'rock called Kl Lat ; a large tree, called Zat Arowat,
' Avas revered by the Koreysh." ^

The negroes of Guinea^ worshipped three deities,
— ser[)ents, trees, and the sea. Park '^ observed a tree
on the confines of Hondoii hung with innumerable
offerings, principally rags. ' Jt had,' he says, ' a very
' singular appearance, being decorated with innnmeralile
' rags or strips of cloth, which persons travelling across
' the wilderness had tied to the branches.'

In Central Africa liarth *'^ mentions' the sacred oroves
of the j\[arghi — a dense part of the forest surrounded
with a ditch, where, in the most luxuriant and widest-
spreading tree, their god ' Zumbi is worshipped.'

1 ■ '

iM\

' Early l!aces of Scotliuul, vr>l. i. I'OD.

r. 171.

- Jour. Autlir. lust, l^^r.'^jp. iT-^.
' Lri(\ lit. p. 175.
* l)e Brossos, loaif. p. 100.
•■' Park, p. Oo.

" Travels, vol. iv. p. 35. See also
vol. vi. p. .'544.

^ Traxels in Arabia, vol. i. p.

Vo\aj:e to friiinoa, p. U^.),
Hosman, Pinkerton's Vovapes, vol.
xvi. p. 404. Merolia, rinkertnii's
Voya^^e?, vol. xvi. p. l'86.

'» TiavelN, \>i\7, vol. i. pp. 04.
100. See also Cailli^, vol. i. p.
l.")0.

'« Travels, vol. ii. p. .380.

IXDIA. CEYLON.

280

Tlie nei»'roes of (,'()nL'()' adorod a sacrod tree called
' •' Mirrone." One is o-enendly planted near the houses
'as if it were the tutelar god of the dwelling, the
' Gentiles a<loring it as one of their idols.' They [)hiee
calabashes of palm wine at the feet of these trees, in
case they should be thirsty. Dosnian als(j states that
alon**' the Guinea Coast almost every villai'-e has its
sacred ••"rove." At Addacoodah, (JldfiehP saw a • i»'i-
' gantic tree, twelve yards and eight inches in circum-
' ference. I soon found it was considered sacred, and
' had several arrows stuck in it, from which were sus-
' pended fowls, several sorts of bii'ds, ami many other
' things, which hud been ottered by the natives to it us
' a deity.'

Cha})man mentions a sacred tree among the KaiHrs,
which was hunji' with numerous offerinu's.''

The l>o tree is much worshi[)ped in India' and
Ceylon." ' The planting of tlie llajuyatana tree l)y
'Jhiddha,' says Fergusson, 'has already been alluded
'to, but the history of the transference of a branch of
' the J3o tree from the l)uddh-gy{\ to Anura(lha[)ura is
' as authentic and as im[)ortant as any event recorded
' in the Ceylonese annals. Sent by Asoka (250 B.C.),
' it was received with the utmost reverence by Devanam-
' piyatisso, and planted in {he most conspicuous spot in
' the centre of his capital. There it has been reverenced

pp. fi4.

>1. i. p.

* Merolla's Vo^-afre to Congo,
riiikortoii, vol. xvi. p. 'I'M). Aslley'.s

Kxpeditioii, vol. ii. p. 1 17.
'JVavt'ls, vol. ii. p. ."iO. Klfiniii

CoUeclion ot' Voyages, vol. ii. pp. quotf,-* also \'i!kult, \\v\. dos Costcs

(»o, 07,

d'Alriqiie S. pp. i>(i;], J07. Aib(

lU.S-

MC,

n't. p. ;5!)!>. See also Ast- set, loc. cif. p. 104.

lev's Collection oF A'dvage,-;, vol. ii.

Tiiekt

y's Narrative, p.

181.

Tiee a.id St.'rp('nt \V(ir.-Iii|i, p,

Livingstone's South Africa, p. 4i)5.

(j(), I't Srij.

« Ibiil.

p. uO.

• 1'

■U-'i
■i]

:, i

200

nrnL TitmEs of imdia.

:f if' .

:.;! ri

II :■ f

{IS the cl lief and most iiiiportiiiit " imineii " of (Jcylon
for more than 2,000 years, and it, or its lineal dc -
scenlant, spriinu; at least from tlie old root, is tliere
worsliipped at this honr. The city is in ruins ; its
i»reat dai»()l)as liave fallen to «lecav ; its monasteries
have disai>[)eared ; but the great 15o tree still
flourishes accordin(>^ to the lei>'end — ever <»:reen, never
••"rowinji; or decreasini*', but livini; on for ever for the
delight and worship of mankind. Annually thou-
sands repair to the sacred precincts within which
it stands, to do it honour, and to offer up those
prayers for health and prosperity wliich are more
likely ^.'} l>e answered if uttered in its [)resence. Tlicre
is probably no older idol in the world, certainly none
more venerated.'

Some of the Chittagong Hill tribes worship the
bamboo,^ and in the Simla liil's Caprcssu>i tondosa is
regarded as a sacred tree.^

In I>eer])hoom, tree-worship is very general, and
' once a year the whole capital repairs to a shrine in
' the jungle.'^ This shrine consists of three trees, but
it would ap[)car that they are now venerated rather as
the abodes of deities, tlian as the actual deities them-
selves. The Kh}*ens also worship a thick bushy tree
called Suln'i.*

In Siberia the Jakuts liave sacred trees on "\a hich
they ' hang all manner of nicknacks, as iron, brass,
* copper, &c.' ^ Tlie Ostyaks also, as P'dlas informs us,

' Lewin's [lill Tracts of Oliitta- Ik'ii.Lral, 1S(5.^, p. 131.

goiio;, p. 10. Dalton's Trans. l*]t,lui. ' Daltons Des. Ethn. of BtMigal,

8nc. vol. vi. p. 34. p. 1 \o.

• Thonipsnii's Travels in W. ^ Stralileuburg's Travels in Si-

Tlinialaya, p. !'.). buria, p. 381.

'' Hunter's Annals of Kural

SIBERIA. SUMATRA.

291

used to worship trees. ^ ' There was pointed out to us,'
says Ernian, 'as an important monument of an early
epoch in the history of Beresov ''^ a hu'ch about fifty
feet high, and now, through age, fioiu'ishing only at
the top, which has been preserved in the churchyard.
In former times, when the Ostyak rulers dwelt in
lieresov, this tree Avas the particular object of their
adoration. In this, as in many other instances, ob-
served by the Russians, the peculiar sacredness of the
tree was due to the singularity of its form and growth,
for about six feet from the ground the trunk se})arated
into two e(|ual parts, and again united. It was the
custom of the supc^rstitious natives to jilace costly
olferings of every kind in the opening of the trunk ;
nor have they yet abandoned the usage ; a fact well
known to the enlightened Kosaks, wIkj enrich them-
selves by currying off secretly the sacrificial gifts.'
Ilanway,^ in his Travels in l*ersia, mentio>'«^ ;i tr''<' * to
which were ulUxed a number of rags left there as
health-offerings Ijy persons alllicted with w^nii. I'liis
was besides a desolate caravanserai where the traveller
found nothing but water.'

In some parts'^ of Sumatra likewise "they super-
stitiously believe that certain trees, particularly those
of venerable appearance (as an old jawi-jawi, or banian
tree), are the residence, or rather the material frame
of spirits of the woods ; an opinion which exactly
answers to the idea entertained by the ancients of the

' Loc, vit. vol. iv. p. 70.

* I'lnuiiu's Travi'ls in yibeiia, vol.
i. ]). 404. .Sot! alwo Des. du touto.s
le.s Nat. (lu I'Euip. llutae, pt. xi.

•' (^iioti'd ill tlio lOarly IJaci's of
Scotlaml, vol. i. p. 10.'J. Scu also iJe
J{ii),s-;c>, lov. cit. pp. Ill, 1 15.

* Martduii'a lliatury ul" .Siiiuatia,
p. 301.

u 2

i;l

r <

292

PIIfLtrPlNEH. FI'J E.n:EA NS.

i. {

I' ?

' (Iryiules ;iii(l hiiiujylryados. At IJcnkiiuat, in the Liiiii-
' |)()Ml;' country, thero is Ji lonj^ stoiio, standinj^ on n ilat
' one, supposed l)y the j)eop]e to [lossess extraordinary
' [>o\ver of virtue. It is re[)orted to have been onee
' thrown down into tlie water, and to liave raised itself
' ajjfahi into its oriiiinal position, at''itatin<'' tlic elements
' at the same time with a ])rodiL'ioiis storm. To ap-
' proaeh it without rcspeet they believe to be the souree
' of misfortune to the offender.'

Among the natives of the l*hirq)pines also we find
the worship of trees. ^ '^'li^y ' believed that the world
' at first consisted only of sky and water, and between
' thes(! two a glede ; which, weary witli flying al)0iit,
' i)nd finding no i)laee to rest, set the water at variance
' witli the sky, which, in order to keep it in bounds,
' and that it should not get u])permost, loaded the water
' vdth a nnndjer of islands, in which the glede might
'settle and leave them at peace. Mankind, they said,
' sprang out of a large cane with two joints ; that floating
' nbout iti the water was at lenuth thrown bv the waves
' au'ainst the feet of the u'lede, as it stood on shore,
' which o])ened it witli its bill ; the man came out of one
'joint, the woman out of the other. These were soon
'after married by the consent of their god, Bathala
' Meyc;i])al, which caused the first trembling of the
' earth ; and from thence are descended the ditl'ereut
' nations of the world.'

The Feejeans also worshi[)ped certain plants.'"'
Tree-worshi[) was less prevalent in America. Trees
and plants were worshipped by the Mandans and

' Mai'sdens Ili.story ol' yumatra, p. 303.
'^ Fiji ami the Fijiaus, vol. i. p. 219.

NORTH A^fEIiICA. MEXICO. PEIiU. PATAGONIA. 293

j\Ionitarecs.^ A lari^c ash was venerated ])y tlie Indians
of Lake Superior.^

In North America, Frankhn "' descril)es a sacred tree
on wliich the Crees 'had hnni]^ strips of l)iiffalo flesh
' and pieces of clotli.' Tliey complained to him of some
' Stone Indians, who, two nig-hts before, had stripped
' then* revered tree of many of its offerings.' In ^lexico
Mr. Tylor"* observed an ancient cypress of remarkable!
size: 'all over its branches were fastened votive offer-
'ino:s of tbe Indians, hundreds of locks of coarse black
'hair, teeth, bits of coloured cloth, rags and morsels of
'ribbon. The tree was many centuries old, and had
' probably had some mysterious influence ascribed to it,
' and been decorated with suHi simple offerings long
' before the discovery of America.' In Nicaragua, not
only large trees, but even maize and beans, were woi'-
shipped.'^ Maize was also worshipi)ed in the Peruvian
province of Iluanca.''

In Pataoonia, ]\Ir. Darwin " mentions a sacred tree
' Avhich the Indians reverence as the altar of Walleechu.
' It is situated on a high part of the plain, and hence is
'a landmark visible at a «^reat distance. As soon as a
' tribe of Indians come in sight of it they offer their

' adorations l)y loud shouts It stands by itself

' without any neighbour, and was indeed the first tree
' we saw ; afterwards we met with a few othei's of the
' same kind, but they were far from conunon. IJeing

' Miiller, Amer. Urrel. p. 59.

* Miiller, /oe. «^ p. 125.

•' Jonrnev.s to the Polar Sea, vol.
i. p. 221.

■* AiialiUMC, p. 215, ITc racii-
tiona a seoond case of tbe same .sort
on p. 205.

^ Miiller, loc. cif. p. A'M. See
.also p. 491 .

« Miirtius, Inc. (if. p. 80. (1. do
la Vojra, ('oimiieii. of tli(> Tncas, vol.
i. p].. 47, .'Wl.

' lit'scarcIu'H ill (Jeolofry and
Niitur.al ili«tnry, p. 79.

rM^-

u 4

'-.v?^-

.■ 'ii.

ilj

m ■

294

WATEU.WOTiSmr.

winter, the tree liad no leaves, but in tlieir place num-
berless threads, by which the various off('rin«rs, such as
ci<ifars, bread, meat, ])i(!ces of cloth, c^c, had been siis-
})ended. J*oor people, not havini*' anythini'' better, only
pulled a threiid out of their ponchoo, and fastened it
to the tree. The Indians, moreover, were accustomed
to pour spirits and mate into a C(!rtain hole, and like-
wise to smoke upwards, thinking thus to afford all
possible i^ratification to Walleechu. To complete the
scene, the tree was surrounded by the bleacluid bones
of the horses which had been slauij-htered as sacrifices.
All Indians, of every age and sex, made their offerings ;
they then thought that their horses would not tire,
and that they themselves should l)e {prosperous.'
The Abenaquis also had a sacred tree.^
Thus, then, this form of reliiiion can be shown to be

7 7 ~

general to most of the great races of men at a certain
stage of mental development.''^

We will now ])ass to the worship of lakes, rivers,
and springs, which we shall find to have been not less
widely distrilmted. It was at one tune very prevalent
in Western iMirope. Herodotus mentions the exist-
ence of sacred lakes among the Libyans.'* According
to Cicero, Justin, and Strabo, there was a lake near
Toulouse in which the ueit»'hbourini]^ tribes used to
de})osit offerings of gold and silver. Tacitus, Pliny,
and N'irml also allude to sacred lakes. In the sixth
century. Greo'ory of Tours mentions a sacred lake on
Mount Helanus.

' Do T?rn5!.*ep, Du CuUp tlo^^ ^ l\arly RaPeia of Scotland, vol.

Dieux Feticlit's, p. Gl. Lafilau, vol. i. p. 158.
i. p. 140. s Melpomeiifi, IGS, 181.

EUROPE.

295

In r»rit{aiiy tlicre is tlic celchrntcd ^V('11 of St. Aime
c»f Aiii'jiy. {111(1 tlic sacred foiiiitnin nt LniniuMir, in tlic
cry|)t of tlic clmrcli of St. Mcliir.s, to Aviiich crowds of
pilgrims still resort.^

In our own country traces of water-worsliij) arc
also abundant. It is cxj)ressly mentioned by Gildas,
and is said to be denounced in a Saxon homily pre-
served in Cambridge.'^ ' At St. Filian's ^' well, at ConuMc,
in Pertlisliire, nnndjcrs of persons in search of health,
so late as 1791, came or Mere brought to drink of the
waters and bathe in it. All these walked or were
carried three times deasil (sunwise) round the well.
They also threw each a white stone on an adjacent
cairn, and left behind a scraj) oi' their clothing as an
offering to the genius of the i)lace.' In the Scotch
islands also are many sacred wells, and I have myself
seen the holy avcU in one of the islands of Loch Maree
surrounded by the little offerings of the peasantry, con-
sisting principally of rags and halfpence.

Colonel Forbes Ledie'* observes that in Scotland
' there are few parishes without a holy well ; ' nor was
it much less general in Ireland, 'J'he kel])ie, or spirit
of the waters, assumed various forms, that of a man
woman, horse, o;* bull being the most common. Scot-
land and Ireland are full of legends about this spirit, a
firm belief in the existence of which wa>' licncral in the
lai<t century, and is even now far from abandoned.

Of river-worshi]) we have many cases recorded in

•si

i. >■

' Mon. Ilisl. Rrit. vii, '' See roiLes J,<'Hlie's I'mlv

'^ Wright's Superstitions of Eiig- Kaoes of Scollaiul, vol. i. p. 14").

land. Canipboll's Tales of the \\ est Iligh-

^ Earl}- Kaces of Seotlau(l,vol. i. land.s.

p. 150.

-vi:

iiOG

STlU'^h'JA. INIfTA.

Greek liistory.^ Pelens de'licated a lock of Aclillles'
liair to t]i(> river SjK'reheios. 'Die INiliaiis saerlliced a
bull to Alplieios ; Tlieniis siiiiiuioned the rivers to tlie
o'reat Olympian assembly. Okeanos. the Ocean, and
various fountains, were regarded as divinities. Water-
worship in the time of Homer was, however, gradually
ebbing' away ; and belonged rather, I think, to an earlier
stage in development, than, as Mr. Gladstone believes,
to a different race.'*^

In Northern Asia, the Tunguses*'' and N'otyaks ''
worship various sjn'ings. De lirosses mentions that the
' Itiver Sogd was worship]>ed at Samarcand.'' In " the
' tenth century a schism took })hice in Persia among
' the Armenians, one party being accused of despising
' the holy well of Vagarschicbat.'

The P)Ouriats also, though Ibiddhists, have sacred
lakes. Atkinson thus describes one. In an after-dinner
ramble, he says," ' T came npon the small and ])ictu-
' resrpic lake of Ikeougoun, which lies in the mountains
'to the north of San-iihin-dalai, and is held in ven^ra-
' tion. They have erected a small wooden temple on
' the shore, and here they come to sacrifice, offering up
' milk, butter, and the fat of the animals, which they
' burn on the little altars. The large rock in the lake
' is with them a sacred stone, on which some rude
' figures are traced ; and on the bank 0])posite they
' place rods with small silk flags, having inscri])tions

' Javontua ^Fundi, p. lOU.
'' Ihul pp. 177, 187.
' Pallas, vol. iv. p. (541.
■^ Bos. de toutes los Nat. de
I'Emp. Huspc. pt. ii. p. H'J.

'^ Loc. cit. p. 140.
" Wlii])ple, Report on the Fiidiaii
Trib£'=, p. 44.

" .Siberia, p. 440.

AFRTdA.

li'.t;

' })rinte(l on tlicin.' Fiiikc Alioosli also is accounted
sacred anion;;' the IJaskhirs.'

The divinity of water, says I)u])ois, is recof^nised by
'all tlie people of India.'- IVsidcs the well-known
worship f)f the holy Giuiges the tribes of the Xeili^herry
Hills ^ worshij) rivers under the name of Gani^amma,
and in crossinu' them it is nsual to dro|) a coin into the
water as an offering and the ])rice of a safe passage.
In the iH'Ccan and in Ceylon trees and bushes near
springs may often be seen covered with votive oifei-ings.''
The worshij) of rivers also prevails among many of
the Hill tribes, as. for instance, the Karj'ias. Santhals,
Khonds, c^c.'' The Karens and l>nrmese also 'have
' sacred wells. .... the waters of which are inhabited
' by spirits, which carry off girls, just like the Scotch
' water-sj)irits.' ' The people of Sumatra ' are said ' o })ay
'a kind of adoration to the sea, and to make it an
' ofterino; of cakes and sweetmeats on their beholdiuL''
' it for the first time, dep/ccating its power (jf doing
' them harm.' '

In the Ashantee country, Bosnian mentions ' the
' Chamascinn river, or Rio de San Juan calle(l by ' the
' negroes l*ossum Pra, which they adore as a god, as
' the word Bossnm signifies.' ^ The Eufrates, the prin-
ci[)al river of Whydah, is also looked on as sacred, and

' A.tlfinsnn'9 Oriental and West-
ern Siberia, p. 141.

* The People of India, p. 125.
See also pp. 370, 419.

^ The Tribes of the Nuilglierry
Hills, p. 08.

•' ]bi(L vol. ii. p. 407. Dalton'a
Des. Ethn, of Ik'iijral, p. 1;")0.

° M'Malion, The Karens of the
Gold. Chersonese, pp. '507, 84.'{.

^ jMarsden, loc. cit. p. 301 .

^ Loc, cit, p. 348. See also p.

I' '■:•

■' Early Races of Scotland, vul. 4!)4. Smitli's Vnjage to Guinea, p.
i. p. 103. ' 197.

• t

«■!

2i»fi

AFTiWA.

•

ft yonrly procossion is \\\\\i\v to it.' lMiilli|»-i '^ mcnticms,
tlint on one occjision. in KJJ)^, when tlic sea \V!is nn-
nKiially roii<rli, the 1\ji])os1i('(Ts complnined to the kin^,
who ' desired tliem to be easy, and lie would make the
' sea quiet next day. Aceordingly he sent his fetish-

* rnan with a jar of palm oil, a bag of rice and corn, a
'jar ofpitto, a bottle of brandy, a piece of j)ainted calico,

* and several otlier things to pnisent to the sea. l^eing

* come to the seaside (aw the author was infonned by
'his men who saw the ceremony), he made a speech to

* it, assuring it that his king was its friend, and loved

* the white men ; that they were honest fellows, and
' came to trade with him for what he wanted ; and tliat
' he requested the sea not to be angry, nor hinder them

* to land their goods ; he told it that if it wanted pahii
'oil, his king had sent it some ; and so threw the jar
' with the oil into the sea, as he did, with the same

* compliment, the rice, corn, pifh), brandy, calico, &c.'
Again, Yillault** mentions that lakes, rivers, and ponds
come in also for their share of woi'ship. lie was present
at a singular ceremony near Akkra. A great number
of blacks assembled about a pond, bringing with them a
sheep and some gallipots, which they offered to the
pond, ]\l. A'illaidt being inforned 'that this lake, or
'pond, being one of their deities, and the common
' messenger of all the rivers of the"r country, they threw
' in the gallipots with these ceremonies to implore his

* aHsistance ; and to beg him to carry immrdiatel}" that
' pot, in their name, to other I'ivers and lakes to buy

t'^

' Astley, lor. cif. p. 20, ^ AntU'v's Collection of Voyagey,

^ Astley's Collection of Yoyapps, p. (iC8.
Tol. ii. p. 411.

;('

NtVfTH ...

CA.

U'.lK

' WJitor fur tliom, nn<l liopcd jit liis rctiirii, lie would
' |)oiir tlio pot-fiill oil tlu'lr corn, tlmt tlicy might havi'
' a <(()()(1 croj).'

Some of tlu; negroes on the Guinea Coast ' • looked
' on tlie whites as the p-ods of tlie sea ; that the mast
' was a divinity that made the sliip walk, and the pump
' was a miracle, since it conld make water rise nj). whose
* natural property is to descend.'

Mr. Oreswick, in his description of the A eys, says,*'^
'there is a dangerons rock in the l\[af:i river, which is
'never passed without giving trihute, either a leaf of
' tobacco, a handful of rice, or drink of nun, as a peace-
' offering to the spirit of tlie fl(jod.'

On the Zambesi, the natives place offerings on the
I'ocks in dangerous places, to propitiate tlie sj)irits of
the waters.*''

In North America the Dacotahs'' worshij) a god of
the waters under the name of Uuktahe. They say that
this orod and its associates are seen in their dreams. It
is the master-s])irit of all their juggling and supersti-
tious belief. From it the medicine-men obtain their
supernatural powers, and a great part of their religion
springs from this g'uh' Franklin" mentions that, the
wife of one of his Indian p-uides beinp' ill, her husband
made an offering to the water-spirits, whose wrath he
ap])rehended to be the cause of her malady. It con-
sisted of a knife, a piece of tobacco, and some other
trifling articles, which were tied up in a small bundle,
and committed to the rai)id.' Carver *^ observes that

' Astlev, vol. ii. p. 105. iii. p. 485.

^ Trans, Ethn. Soc. vol. vi.p.350. * Journoy lo the Shoivs of the

3 Living.stone's Zambesi, p. 41. Polm- S.-a, 18151 i'2, vol. ii. p. 245.

* Schoolfraft's Indian Tribt's, pt. " Carver's 'i'ruvels, p. 38^.

>*-.'■

■<■'■ I.

■i.iii

-■s:h

11 u

IJOO

CENT HAL AMllUUW.

wlicn tlic lu .'Iskins ' jirrivc on tlic bordorH of T.iikc
' Superior, on X\\v banks of tlic Mississippi, or any otlicr
' jjirc'it l)0(ly of water, tlicy present to tlie H])irit wlio
'resides tliere some kind of offerinjuf, as tlie prinee of
' the Winnel)a<i<)es did wlien lie attended nie to tlie Falls
'of St. Anthony.' Tanner also j^ives instances of this
eustoin.' On one oecasi« m a IJedskin, addressin*^ the
spirit of the watc^rs, 'told him -hat he had eome a lon^'
' way to pay his adorations to him, and I'ow would
' make him ihe hest oflei'inu!;s in his power. lie
' !iccordin<4]y fii'st threw his pipe into ihe stream ; then
' the roll that contained his tobacco ; after these, the
' ])racelets he "wore on his arms and wrists ; next an
' ornament that encircled his neck, composed of beads
' and wires ; and at last the earrin<!;s from his ears ; In
' short he presented to his god eveiy part f>f his dress
' that was vahiable.' ''^ The Mandans also we.e in the
habit of sacrificinf^ to the spirit of the waters.''

In North Mexico, near the ^ath Parallel, Lieutenant
Whipple found a sacred s])rinfi^ which from time imme-
morial ' had been held sacred to the rain-god.' ^ No
animal may drink of its waters. It mnst be annually
cleansed with ancient vases, which, hnving been trans-
mitted from generation to generation by the caciques,
are then placed upon the Avails, never to be removed.
The frog, the tortoise, and the rattlesnake, represented
upon them, are sacred to Montezuma, the patron of the
place, who would consume by lightning any sacrilegious
hand that should dare to take the relics away. In Ni-

' Narrative of the Captivity of dians, vol. i. p. 100.
Jobn Tiinner, p. 40. "i Ilcpnrt on the Iiiiliaii Triles,

* Ibid. -p. G7. p. 40.
^ Catl ill's North American In-

TllH WiHisniV OF sroNl'JS.

inn

•I,.'

r\i

(•iir;iM;iiji ram was woisliippt'd iiii

• Icr tl

1" iiaiiic ()

(TS.

(^>uiat(!nt. Till' |>nii('i|)al wat (!!•-;;•( n I of Mexico, liow-
cviM', was Tlaloc, who was worsIilpiH'd liy tlic 'It.!!
Cliiclicmct's, uimI Azti'cs.' In New Mexico, not far In >m
Ziiiii, l)r. Hell' (lescrilu's ii sacred spriiiL;' ' about ei^•||t
Meet in diaiiiotei", walled round witli stoiuis, of whicii
' neither cattle nor men may drink : the animals sa(;red
'to water (Iron's, t(»rtoises, and snakes) alone must

tvv tl

le i)oo

)1. O

n(!e Ji

ear

le cacKine am

d 1

lis

attcn(hints [)ei'forni certain religious rites at the
si)rin;;" : it is thoroughly cleared out ; wjiter-[)()ts arc
hrouglit as unoltcring' to the spirit ot' Montezuma, and
are i)hicc;d bottom upwards on the to[) of thi; wall of
stontvs. Many of these have been removiMl ; but

somi!

still remain, while the ;^ruund around is sti'ewn with
fra«»'ments of vases which have crumbled into decay

ler the name ol' ^[a!llil

rom aji'e.

In I'

eru tlie seji uik

Cocha, was the princi[)al deity of the Chinchas.'"' 'I'hc
Indians of the Coast, says Gareilisso de la \'e,^!i, ' from
' Truxillo to Tarapaca, which an; at the northern and
'southern extremities of Peru, worsliip[)ei[ the se.i in
' the shape of a fish.' One branch of the (V)llas deduced
their t)rigin Ironi a ri\ei*, the others I'rom a spriji

r-i J

ther

e was

(so a s

peci;

il rani-''oa(iess

In r

arauua

also the rivers are propitiated by offerings of tobacco.

We will now pass to the worship of stones and
mountains, a form of religion not less general than
those already described.

^I. Duhiurc, in his 'Histoire Abreg-ce des Cultes,'

cruller, Amor. Urrel. p. 4!t(J.
Etlin. Journ. 1800, p. 2l»7.
Miiller, Amcr. Uriel, p. ?G8,
Luc. ci(. p. 1-18.

'" Giuciliisso de la Vejrn, vol. i.

p. 108.

^uc,

fit. p. L^J8.

■■u

1 '■'

■' *.

(V-., '■

'i f

I ■ ,

i ''

:}02

ATTJilllUTl'JS OF TJIE (iOl) MFJlCUllY.

ill*

cx[)l{»ins tlic origin of stone- wor.slup as iirisinu;' from tlie
rcs[)L'«;t paid to boundary-stones. 1 do not doubt that
the worship of some partieuhir stones may thus liave
originated. Hermes, or Tennes, was evidently of this
charaeter, and lience we nuiy perhaps ex[)hiin the })ecu-
liar characteristics <jf Hermes, or Mercury, whose symbol
was an upright stone.

Mercury, or Hermes, says f^empriere, ' was the mes-
' senger of the gods. He was the patron of travellers
' and shepherds ; he conducted the souls of the dead
' into the infernal regions, and not only presided over
' orators, merchants, and declaimers, but he was also the
' god of thieves, pickpockets and all dishonest persons.'
He invented letters and the lyre, and was the originator
of arts and sciences.

It is difficult at tirst to see the connection between
these various offices, characterised as they are by sucli
op[)osite peculiarities. Vet they all follow, I think, from
the custom of marking l)Oundaries by upright stones.
Hciice the name Hermes, or Ternies, the boundary. In
the troublous times of old, it w;io usual, in order to avoid
disputes, to leave a tract of neutral territcny between
the i)ossessions of different nations. These were called
marches ; hence the title of Mar(|uis, which means an
officer appointed to watch the frontier or ' march.'
These marches, not bein<'' cultivated, served as urazini*'
grounds. To them came merchants in order to ex-
change on neutral ground the products of their respec-
tive countries ; here also for tlie same reason treaties
were nei'otiated. Here aii'ain international ••'ames and

~ ~ o

sports were held. Upright stones were used to indi-
ciite places of buritd ; and lastly on them were engraved

3 twee 11
such

k, I'roiu

istoues.
. Ill

) avoid
twee 11
called
ns ail
larcli.'

|raziii<(
to ex-

|-espec-
Ireaties
3s ami
iiidi-
ra\ed

S WE HI A. II IXDOSTAN.

'.io'S

laws and decrees, records of reiiiarkal)le events, and the
praises of tlie deceased.

Idence Mercury, represented by a [)lain upri^'lit
stone, was the god of travellers, because lie was a land-
mark ; of she[)herds as [)residing over the [)astures ; he
conducted the souls of the dead into the hifcrnal regions,
because even in vory early days u[)right stones were
used as tombstones ; he was the god of merchants,
because commerce was carried on priiici[)ally at the
frontiers ; and of thieves, out of sarcasm. lie was the
messenger of the gods, because amljassadors unit at the
frontiers ; and of eloquence for the same reason, lie
invented the lyre, and presided over games, because
contests in music, &c. were held on neutral ground ;
and he was regarded as the author of letters, because
iiiscri[)tions were engraved on upright [jillars.

Stone-worship, however, in its simpler forms has, I
think, a different origin from tliis, and is merely a form
of that indiscriminate worship wliich characterises the
human mind in a particular [)hase of development.

Pallas states that the Ostyaks ^ and Tunguses
worship mountahis,'^ and the Tartars stones.^ Xear
Lake Baikal'^ is a sacred rock ^vhiL'h is regarded as the
special abode of an evil s[)irit, and is consequently much
feared by the natives. In India stone-worship is very
})revalent, especially among the aboriginal tribes. The
Asagas of Mysore ' worship a god called Bhuina Devam,
' who is represented by a shapeless stone.' ^ ' One
'thing is certain,' says Mr. Ilislop, 'the worship (of

' Voyages de Pallas.vol. iv. p. 79. ii. p. 14i*.

- Ifiid. pp. l.'<4, (MS. ^ IJiicIirtiiau'.s JuiiriR'v, vol. i. p.

^ 7/y/f/. pp. ."ill, iV.»S, :V.iS. (Quoted in L.'tliuul. Joiini. vnl.

' Ilill's Travi'ls in .Siljoria, vol. viii. p. '.>(J.

Y
H

' M

^^'^.\

'! .«'

''Ai

•• -^K'l

80i

IlIXnnSTAN.

« vs

' .stones) is spreiid over all [uirts of tliu country, trom
' IJcnir to the cxtrciiu! cast of liiistar, and tliat not
'merely amoni^' the llindiiisyd aborigines, wlio liad
' begun to honour Ivhandova, &c. but anioiig the rudest
'and most savau'c tribes, lie is u'cncrallv adored in
' the form of an unsha[)ely stone covered with ver-
' milion.' ^ ' Tavo ru<le slave castes in Tuhiva (Southern
' India), tiie IJakadara and I5eta(hira, worship a benevo-
' lent deity named lUita, represiinted by a stone kept
' in every honse.' '^ Indeed, ' in every part of Southern
' India, four or live stones may often be seen in the
' ryots' lield, [)h4ced in a row and daubed with red paint,
' which thev consider as <»;uardians of the field and call
'the fivci Pandus.' *^ Cohniel Forbes Leslie snp[)os(!s
that this red paint is intended to rejn'esent blood.^
The god of each Khond village is re[)resented by tlnco
stones.'"^ 1*1. 111. re[)resents a group of sacred stonv.s,
near Delu'aum. in the Dekkan, from a liiiure n'iven bv"
Colonel Forbes Leslie in his interesthig work.^ The
three largest stood ' in front of the centre of two straight
'lines, each of which consisted of thirteen stono.
' These lines were close together, and the edges of tln'
' stones were placed as near to each other as it \va>
' possible to do with slabs which, although selected, had
' JUiver been artificially sha])ed. The stone in the
' centn; of each line was nearly as high as the highest of
' the three that stood in front ; but the others gradually
' decreased in size from the certre, until those at the

' Aborifrinal Tribes, p. t<5.
Quoted in Ethnol. Journ. vol. viii.
p. !)({.

- Joiiru. Ltliuol. Soc. vol. viii.
p. 115.

^ Ibuf. vol. ix. p. \2i).
' Early Races of Scotlaud, \nl.
ii. p. 46i>. '

^ Loo. cif. vol. ii. p. 4!>7
" Lm: rif. vol. ii. p. 404.

, troiii
it not
) liiid
rudest
red ill
I vcr-
iitlicrn
enevo-
i kept
utlieni
in the
. piiint,
nd Ciill

lj)[)().S(!S

bl(><)<l.'
y tlnt'C
stoliv.-^.
r^en 1)y
The
raiiiht
,t()n('>.
of th.'
it \va>
ed, had
ni the
hest (it"
dually
at the

naud, vol.

" - ' I

1^::

(

• I

i i-

sa
'de
'an
'ge
'lir
' ^yi
' qii
'gei
' tw
'lea
'ga-
' sei

. *■

^'4 i|

able
'the
'red
'wh
' a p(
' rest
'nea
' bill
' pail
' wb(
' wh(
' on
'hah
'thn;
• wei

NEW ZEALAND.

305

* ends were less than a foot above tlie ground, into
' wliich they were all secured. Three stones, not fixed.
' were placed in front of the centre of the group ; they
' occupied the same position, and were intended for the
' same purposes, as those in the circular temple just
' described. All the stones had been selected of an
' angular shape, with somewhat of an obelisk form in
' general appearance. The central group and double
' lines faced nearly east, and on that side were white-
' washed. On the white, near, althougli not reaching
' quite to the apex of each stone, nor extending alto-
' gether to the sides, was a large spot of red paint,
' two- thirds of whicli from the centre were blacked over,
' leaving only a circular external belt of red. This
' gave, as I believe it was intended to do, a good repre-
' sentation of a large spot of blood.'

In connection with these painted stones it is remark-
able that in New Zealand red is a sacred colour, and
' the way of rendering anything tapu was by making it
' red. When a person died, his house was thus painted ;
' when the tapu was laid on anything, the chief erecte<i
' a post and painted it with the kura ; wherever a corpse
'rested, some memorial was set up ; oftentimes the
' nearest stone, rock, or tree served as a monument ;
' l)ut whatever object was selected, it was sure to be
' painted red. If the corpse was conveyed by water,
' wherever they landed a similar token was left ; and
' when it reached its destination, the canoe was dragged
' on shore, painted red, and abandoned. When the
'hahunga took place, the scraped bones of the chief
'thus ornamented, and wrapped in a red-stained mat,
' were deposited in a box or bowl smeared with the

( I

' -r^i*

■J--'

y.V

,l!^>,

:n..

Iff-

]

; i

306

THE ARABIANS, PHCENICIANS, ETC.

i A

sacred colour

lacctl

II a painted tomb. Near
* his final resting-place a lofty and elaborately carved
' monument was erected to his memory ; this was called
' the tiki, which was also thus coloured.' ^ Red was
also a sacred colour in Congo.^

Colonel Dalton describes ^ a cereinony N/liich
curiously resembles the well-known scene in the li^'e of
Elijah, when he met the priests of Baal on the top of
Oarmel, showed his superior power, and recalled Israel
to the old faith. The Sonthals of Central Hindos-
tan worship a conspicuous hill called ' Marang Boroo.'
In times of drought they go to the top of this sacred
mountain, and offer their sacrifices on a large flat stone,
l)laying on drums and beseeching their god for rain.
' They shake their heads violently, till they work them-
' selves into a phrensy, and the movement becomes
' involuntary. They go on thus wildly gesticulating,
' till a "little cloud like a man's hand " is seen. Then
' they arise, take up the drums, and dance the kurrun
' on the rock, till Marang Boroo' s response to their
' prayer is heard in the distant rumbling of thunder,
' and they go home rejoicing. They must go " fasting
' " to the mount," and stay there till " there is a sound
' " of abundance of rain," when they get them down to
' eat and drink. My informant tells me it always
' comes before evening.'

The Arabians down to the time of Mahomet, wor-
shipped a black stone. ' The Beni Thekyf adored the
' rock called El Lat.'* The Phoinicians also worshipped

' Taylor's New Zealand and the
New Zealanderp, p. 95.

^ MeroUo, Piukerton, vol. xvi. p.

273.

=> Trans. Ethn. Soc, N.S., vol.
vi. p. .35.

* RurckhardtV Tr. iv ■ 'abia,
vol. i. p. 'M).

EUROPE.

807

was

J.S., vol.
aljia,

a deity under the form of an unsliapcn stone.' Tlie god
lieliogabalus was merely a black stone of a conical
form. Upright stones were worshipped by the Romans
and the Greeks, under the name of Hermes, or Mercury.
The Thespians had a rude stone, which tliey regarded
as a deity, and the Boeotians woi'shipped Hercules under
the same form.'' The Laplanders also had sacred
mountains and rocks.*'^ Stone-worship indeed is said
even now to linger in some of the Tyrennean valleys.

In Western I'^urope during the middle ages we meet
with several denunciations of stone- w(^rship, proving its
strong hold on the people. Thus * ' the worship of
' stones was condenmed by Thcodoric, Archbishop of
' Canterbury, in the seventh century, and is among the
' acts of heathenism forbidden by King Edgar in the
'tenth, and by Cnut in the eleventh century. In a
' council held at Tours in a.d. 567 priests were admon-
' ished to shut the doors of their churches against all
' persons worshipping upright stones, and Mahe states
' that a manuscript record of the proceedings of a
' council held at Nantes in the seventh century makes
' mention of the stone-worship of the Armoricans.'

* Les Fran(;ais, says Dulaure,^ ' adorerent des pierres
' plusieurs siecles apres IVtablissement du christianisme
' parmi eux. Di verses lois civiles et religieuses attestent
' I'existence de ce culte. Un capitulaire de Charle-
' magne, et le concile de Leptine, de I'an 743, dcfendent
' les ceremonies superstitieuses qui se pratiquent aupres
' des pierres et aupres des Fans consacres a Mercure et

' Keniick's Phceiucia, \). 323. * Forbes Leslie, loc. lit. vol. i.

'^ 8ee De Brosses, loc. cit. p. lo5. p. 250,

' Dulaiire, loc. cit. p. 50. * Dulaure, loc. cit. vol. i. p. 304.

! '•*

J »

J'iVI

> ! • *^ L

-1:1

■-■ ''i

308

EUIii)VE,

' a Jupiter. Lc concile dc Nantes, cite par Reglnon,
' fait la meme fli^fense. II nous apprend que ces picrres
' ^taient situ^es dans des lieux agrestes, et que le peuple,
' dupe des trornperies des demons, y apportait ses voeux
' et ses offrandes. Les conciles d' Aries, de Tours, le

* capitulaire d'Aix-la-Chapelle, de I'an 789, et plusieurs
' synodes, renouvellent ces prohibitions.'

In Ireland in the fifth century. King Laoghaire wor-
shipped a stone })illar called the Croin-Cruac]i, which
was overthrc *vn by St. Patrick. Another stone at
Cloglier was worshipped by the Irish under the name
of Kermand-Kelstach.^ There was a sacred stone in
Jura'^^round which the people used to move ' deasil,'
i.e. sunwise. ' In some of the Hebrides '' the people
' attributed oracular power to a large black stone.' In
the Island of Skye ' in every district there is to be met

* with a rude stone consecrated to Gruagach, or Apollo.
' The Rev. Mr. McQueen of Skye says that in almost
' every village the sun, called Grugach, or the Fair-
' haired, is represented by a rude stone ; and he further

* states that libations of milk were poured on the gruaich-
' stones.' ' Finn Magnusen,' says Prof. Nilsson, ' relates

* that the peasants in ceriain mountain disL* lets in Nor-
' way even as late as the close of the last century, used
' to preserve stones of a round form, and reverenced them
' in the same manner as their p?^.gati ancestors used to
' worship their idols. They washed them every Thurs-
' day evening, smeared them before the fire with butter,

* or some other grease, then dried them and laid them in

* the seat of honour upon fresh straw ; at certain times of

» Dr. Todd'a St. Patrick, p. 1:27.
» Martin's "Western Isles, p. 241.

257.

' Forbes Leslie, loc. cit. \o\. i. \>.

A FH K'A. FOL YNESIA .

309

' the year tliey were steeped in ale, and all this under
' the supposition that they would bring luck and com-
' fort to the house.' ^

Passing to Africa, Caillie observed near tlie negro
village of N'pal a sacred stone, on which everyone as
he passed threw a thread out of his ' jvagne,' or breech-
cloth, as a sort of offering. The natives firmly believe
that when any danger threatens the village this stone
loaves its place and ' moves thrice round it in tljc; i>re-
' ceding night, by way of warning.' ^

l-Jruce observes that the pagan Abyssiniar } ' woi'siiip
' a tree^ and likewise a stone.' •'

The Taiiitians believed in two principal gods ; ' the
' Supreme Deity, one of these two first beings, they call
' Taroataihetoomoo, and the other, whom they suppose
' to have been a rock, Tcpapa.' * The volcanic moun-
tain Tongariro was ' held in traditional veneration by
'the New Zealanders.' '^ The Hervey Islanders also
worshipped upright stones,®

In the Feejee' Islands 'rude consecrated stones (fig.
' 20) are to be seen near ^'una, where ofterings of food
* are sometimes made. Another stands on a reef near
' Xaloa, to which the natives tama ; and one near Tho-
' kova, Na Fiti Levu, named Lovekaveka, is regarded
'as the abode of a goddess, for whom food is provided.
' This, as seen in the enjjravino'. is like a round black
'milestone, slightly inclined, and having a liku (girdle)

. I.

■ ■. '
I ■

■(■•

.;fi

kol. i. p.

' Nilsson un the Stone Age, p.
-'41.

■^ C'aillit?, vc.l. i. p. L'5.

^ ikuces Tnnels, vol.vi.p. 34:3.

* Ilawkeswortb's Voyajves, vol.
ii. p. 238.

^ Diefleiiljach's New Zealmid,
vol. i. p. ."547.

« Uill, Mytlis of the South
Pacific, p. S'J.

'' Williams' Fiji and the Fijians,
vol. i. p. 220.

\''

: I

''mm

iRjIll

^'St»

^WM

W'§

t^mM

FEF.JKi: KnAShS.

'led round tluMniddk'. Tlio slirino nC () Kowaii is a
hirgu stonu, which, like tlie one near X{il(\*i, hnfos inos-
quitooH, jind koops tlioni t'roiii c'r»ll('('fiiiir ncnr whore he
rul(;s ; hv has also two laroe stones (or his wives, one
of wiioni came from Vanthia, and the otlier from
Vasawa. v\1tlioii«^di no one ])reten(ls to know tii(!
origin of Ndeni^ei, it is suid tliat his mother, in the

NA( KKI) si'ONKS. (I''rcj('t' Tsliiliil-.)

'form of two i;reat . tojies, lies al tlic holtoin of a moat.
'Stones are also iisc.i to denote the locality of sojiie
' other (J'ods, and the occasional r('stin^'-])laces of others.
'On (he southern beaches of \'anua Ke\ u a larue stcme
' is seen which has fallen upon a smaller one. Tliese,
' it is said, represent the i»ods of two towns on that coast
' tightino', and their (piarrel has for years been adopted
'by those towns.' On one of these sacred stones in the

AMKUU'A,

811

sninc ncighboiirliood are circular marks, closely roaein-
l)lin<i^ tliose on some of our Kuropcan mculiirs, &c.

In Micronesia, in the <rrou|»s of 7\|>aniania and
Tarawa, ' Tjihueriki is worshipped under the form of a
'Hat coral stone, of irre^idar shape, about three feet
' lou^ by ei<^hteen inches wide, Hct up on one end in the
' open air.' ' The Tannesc also venerate stones, and
the ])rincipal deity of Tokalau was su])posed lo be em-
bodied in a stone, which is carefully wrapped up in fine
mats.'-^ The Suniatrans also, as already mentioned {anti'^
p. 21)2), and the Torres Straits Islanders*' had sacred
stones.

Sproat mentions a mountain in Vancouver's Island
which the natives are afraid to mention, fearing that if
they did so it W(juld cause them to be wrecked at sea.*

Prescott** says, that a Dacotah Indian ' will pick up
' a round stone, of any kind, and paint it, and go a few
' rods from his lodge, and chjar away the grass, say
' from one to two feet in dii'meter, and there place his
' sto!:e, or god, as he would term it, and make an
'ojfei'ing of some tobacco and some feathers, and pray
'to the stone to deliver him from some danger that he
'has probal)ly dreamed of, or from imagination.' The
Monitarris also before any great luidertaking were
in the ha])it of making offerings to a sacred stone
named Mill Choppenish.'' In Florida a mountain called
Ohiimi was worshipped, and among the Natchez of
Louisiana a conical stone.''

■'■%'

""At

:• f

» Ilale'.s Ethn of the U. S. Ex. p. L'Oo.
J'Lxp. \). 97. '•" Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes,

'' Tiirner'fl Nineteen Years in vol. ii. p. 229. Lafitau, vol. ii. p.

Polynesia, pp. Ht^, rr27. 321.

^ (Jill, Life in the Southern Isles, " Kleraiu, Culturg-eschichte, vol.

p. 217. ii. p. 178.

* Scenes and Studies of Sav. Life, ' Lafitau, vul. i, p. 14G.

I'M

' "I
.i

'■ - .f ( .

mv'w

HI 2

FIHE.WOHSlIll'

In South Aima'ica tlic IVriiviuns kept ' stoiu's in
' tlieir liDiiscH, ti'L'utin^' tlieni as g<)<ls, and sacriticinjjf
' Inunan flesli and blood to tlitini.' *

Fire-worship, again, is so widely distributed as to be
almost universal. Sinee tlie introduction of lucifer
matches we can hardly appreciate the difficulty which a
savage has in obtaining a light, especially in damp
weather. It is said, even, that some Australian tribes did
not know how to do so, and that others, if their fire
went out, would go many miles to borrow a spark irom
another tribe, rather than attempt to [mxluce a new one
lor themselveH. Hence in several very widely separated
parts of the world we find it has been customary to tell
off one or more persons, whose sole duty it should
be to keep up a oontiniud fire. Hence, no doubt, the
origin of the Vestal Virgins ; and hence also the idea of
the sacredness of fire would naturally arise.

Accorduig to Lafitau,^ M. Huet, in a work which I
have not been able to see, 'fait une longue enumeration

* <les peuples (pii entretenoicut ce feu sacre, et il cite
' })artout ses autorites, de sorte tpi'il paroit (ju'il n'y
' avoit })oint de partie du monde connu, oii ce culte ne
' fut universt'llement repandu. Dans I'Asie, outre les
'fluifs et les Chaldeens dont nous venous de })arler,
'outre les peuples de Phrygie, de I^ycie, et de I'Asie-

* Miueure, il etoit encore chez les Perses, les Medes, les
' Scythes, les Sarmates, chez toutes les nations du Ponte
' et de la Cappadoce, chez toutes eel les des Indes, oii
' Ton se faisoit un devoir de se Jeter dans les flannnes,
' et de s'y consumer en liolocuuste, et chez toutes celles

' Ctavcil:i--it de la Vt'ga, vol. ii. p. 138. L'lio also vol. i. p. 47.
- Hid. p. lo;i.

FIHE-WOUSIUI'. ASIA.

'M\\

' (li's (Iciix Anibios, oii cliii(|ii(t j<nir ji cci'taiMcs hciirt's
'on fii'iHolt nil HJicriHoe tiu ibii, dans lo(|iu'l plusieiirs
'pcTHonnes mi; dijivouoient. Duns rAfi'uiue il I'toit non
* seulenicnt chcz les f^f^ypticns, f|ui ontretenoient co feu
' irnnjortcl duns cliuquc! temple, uinsi (pie Tussure
' I'orphyre, niais encore dans I'Kthiopie, dans lu I^ybie,
'dans le temple de Jupiter Anmion, et chcz les Atlan-
' ti(pies, oil lliarbas, roy des (Jaramantes et des (ietules,
'avoit dresse cent aiitels, et consucre uiitunt dc; tciix,
'(pic \'ir<^ile up|)elle des f'eiix vi;^iluns et les j^urdes
' eteruelles des dieiix. Dans TKurope le eiilte de N'estu
' (itoit si bien ('itabli (pie, suns jmrler de Rome et de
'l' Italic, il n'y uvoit point de ville de la Grece cpii n'eiit
' un temple, iin prytunee, et un feu (^'ternel, uinsi epic U;
'remaniuc Cusuubon dims ses "Notes sur Atbeiu'e."
' Les temples cc^lebres d'llereule duns les K. oa/mes et
'dans les (Jaules, celui de ^'ulcain au mont I'^tlin , de
' Vt^'iius Erycine, avoient tons leiirs pyrethes on feux
' sueres. On peut citer de semblubles ti^'moignuges des
'nutions les plus reculees dans le nord, (pii etoient
' toutes originaires des Scythes et des Sarinutes. Enfiii
' M. lluet pretend qu'il n'y u pas encore bmg temps que
' ce culte u (ite aboli duns rilybernieet duns lu Moscovic,
' cpTi' est encore uujourd'liui, non seiilement ehez les
' Guures, niais encore chez les Turtures, les ('binois, (;(
'duns rAmerique chez les Mexi([iiuins. II pouvoit
'encore en ajouter d'autres.'

Among the ancient Prussians a perpetual lire was
kept up in honour of the god Potrimpos, and if it was
allowed to go out, the ju'iest m charge was burnt to death,'

' Vjigt, Gesch. Preussens, vol. i. p. 682. Schweuk, Die Mytliol.
der SI a wen, p. AS.

,.' ?■ d

. !i :

i t\

I ',

.^■■1

:• U

I !

5J»

', ,

11 i

ai4

AMERICA.

The Ainos of Yesso ' have many gods ; hut fire, not
' the sun, the moon, or the stars, is the principal one, and
' tliey are accustomed to pray to it, in general terms, for
' all they may need.' ^ ' Many Tunguz, Mongol, and
' Turk tribes,' says Tylor, ' sacrifice to fire, and some
' clans will not eat meat without first throwing a morsel
' upon the hearth.' ^

The Natchez and Cherokees ^ had a temple in which
they kept up a perpetual fire.* The Ojibwas ^ main-
tained 'a continupd fire as a symbol of their nationality.
' They maintained also a civil '^Tity, which, however,
' was much mixed up with their religious and medicinal
'beliefs.' In Mexico also we find the same idea of
sacred fire. Colonel Mcl^eod has seen the sacred fire
still kept burning in some of the valleys of South
^Mexico.*' Ai the great festival of Xiuhmolpia, the
priests and people went in procession to the mountain
of Huixachtecatl ; then an unfortunate victim was
stretched on the ' stone of sacrifice,' and killed by a
priest with a knife of obsidian ; the dish made use of to
kindle the new fire was then placed on the wound, and
fire was obtained by friction.^

In Peru ^ ' the sacred fiame was entrusted to the cavM
'of the Virgins of the Sun ; and if, by any neglect, it

' IJlrlcii'.oro, Trans. J'^tbn. Sdc.
vol. vii. p. 20.

'^ 'l\lciv",i Primitive Ciiltiivo, vol.
ii. II. L'54.

^ Prichnrd's Nat. Hi.st. of Man,
1855, vol. ii. p. 535.

^ L'llitaii, vol. i. p. 107.

'■ Warren in Scluiolc'raft'.s Inilian
'J'ribt'P, vol. ii. p. L'W. See al,'=n
Whipple's Report on Indian Tribes,

p. ;50.

« Jour. Ellin. Son. 1800, p. 2l'5,
See also p. '24(5.

^ lliiniboldt's Kesiearobes, Lon-
don, 1824, vol. i. pp. 225, ;i82. See
al.«o Lafitau, vid. i. p 170. Tiarci-
lasso de la Vega, vol. ii. p. 102.

^ Prescott,vol. i. p. 00. Wutllie.
(les. der Menscb, vol. i. p. 270.

SUN AND MOON WOTiSUlP.

315

' was sufFcred to go out in the course of tlie year, tlie
' event was regarded as a calamity that hoded some
' strafige disaster to the monarchy.'

Fire is also reirarded as sacred amonii' tlie Damaras ^
and in Congo, and in Dahome Zo is the lire feticli. A
pot is phiced in a room and sacrifice is ottered to it, that
fire )nay ' live ' there.^

No one can wonder that the worship of sun, moon,
and stars is very widely distributed. Jt can, however,
scarcely be regarded as of a higher character than tlu;
preceding forms of Totemlsm ; it is unknown in Aus-
tralia, and almost so in Polynesia.

In hot countries the sun is generally regarded as an
evil, and in cold as a beneficent, being. It was the
chief object of religious worship among the Natchez,'
and w.s also worshipped by the Navajos, and other
allic'l tribes in North America.* Amoni»' the Comanches
of Texas ' the sun, moon, and earth are the i)rincipal
' objects of worship.' '^ Lafitau observes that the Ame-
rican Kedskins did not worshi}) the stars and ])lanets,
luit only the sun.** In Xorth-West America, however,
the Ahts worshij) both the sun and moon, but especially
the latter. They regard the sini as feminine and the
moon as masculine, being, moreover, the husband of the
sun.'' The Kaniagniloutes consider them to be brothei-
and sister.** It has been said that \\\v l']s(juimaux of

. V %.

'. --I I

;:^

•' '.. :

1 ly ■

i^^i' V

'^■l

:.'\

' Anderson's Lako Nir;uiii,p. L'l*.'!. Isliuul. p. L'.'id.

- Burton's Dahoiue, vol. ii. p. •'- Nei^-liljois, in SclKKjlcralVs

I'l"^- Iiulian Tribes, vol. ii. j). 127.

^ l^obt'Vtson's America, blc. iv. '' Loi: cif. vol. i. p. 1-1(>.

}>• 1-0. 7 Spmafs Scenes and Studie.s ot'

'• WLij^ple's lleport on Indian Savage Life, p. l'0(!.
Tribes, p. .'^(5. Lafitau, mA. ii. p. ^ Pinart, Revue d'Anthropolo-

LSi>. Tertres History of the Caribby <rie, is?;}, p. 078.

I,' -^

316

AMERICA.

Greenland used to worship the sun. This, liowever,
seems more than doubtful, and Crantz ^ expressly denies
the statement.

The Peruvians worshipped the sun, making to it
offerings of drink in a vessel of gold, and declaring ' that
' what appeared to he gone had been drunk by the sun,
' and they said truly, for the sun's heat had evaporated
' tlie liquor.' "'^ We are told, however, that the Yuea
Huayna Capac questioned this, asking if it was likely
that the sun, if a god, would go over the same course
day after day. ' If he were supreme I.ord he would
' occasionally go aside from his course, or rest for his
' pleasure, even though he might have no necessity what-
' ever for doing so.' ^ The moon was }ield to be sister
and wife of the sun. Garcilasso states that she had no
separate tem})le, and that no sacrifices were offered to
her.* They also worshipped several of the stars, which
they regarded as attendants on the moon.*'*

In Brazil the Coroados worship the sun and moon,
the moon being the more powerful.^ The Abipones^
thought that they were descended from the I^leiades ;
and ' as that constellation disappears at certain periods
' from the sky of South America, upon such occasions
' they sup})Ose tluit their grandfather is sick, and are
' under a yearly ap})rchension that he is going to die ;
' but as soon as those seven stars are aoain visil)le in
' the month of May, they welcome their grandfather, as

• Loc. cit. vol. i. p. lt)(5. ^'et^
CJraiih's Voyage to UrtH'ulaud, p.
VIA.

* (tarcilnsso cIh la \V'|/a, vol. ii.
pp. 00, l;{1, vol. i. p. •21 \.

^ Lo\ (it. p. 410. -Mdliiia,
Fahlos and liitos of the Inca.<^, p. 11.

■* Loc. (it. vol. i. pp. 103, t27o.

'^ Luc. cit. pp. 127.0, 183, 170.

'' Spix and Martins, vol. i*. p.

.>4;5.

nobvitzliollev loc. cit. vi>l. ii.

p. <i'"3.

ASIA. AFRICA.

ai7

'if returned and restored from sickness, with joyful
' slioiits, and the festive sound of pipes and trumpets,
' congratulating him on the recovery of his health.'

In Central India sun-worship prevails among many
of the Hill tribes. ' The worship of the sun as the
' Supreme Deity is the foundation of the religion of the
' Hos and Oraons as well as of the Moondahs. By the
' former he is invoked as Dhurmi, the Holy One. He
' is the Creator and the Preserver ; and, with reference
' to his purity, white animals are ofFeied to him by his
' votaries.' ^ The sun and moon are both regarded as
deities b}^ the Korkus,'"^ Khonds,*' Tunguses,* and
IJuraets.^ In Northern Asia the Samoyedes, the Mor-
duans, the Tschuwasches and other tribes worshipped
the sun and moon.

In Western Africa moon-worship is very prevalent.
' At the appearance of every new moon,' says MeroUa,®
' these people fall on their knees, or else cry out, stand -
' ing and clapping their hands, " So may I renew my
' " life as thou art renewed." ' They do not, however,
appear to venerate either the sun or the stars. Bruce
also mentions moon-worship as occurring among the
Shangallas.^ Further south the Bechuanas ' watch more
' eagerly for the first glimpse of the new moon, and
• when they perceive the faint outline after the sun has

' ("clouel iJalton, Trans. Ethn. ^ Klemiu, Cult. d. Mensch. v. iii.

^50C. vol. vi. p. .'53. pp. 101, 109. Miiller, Des. de toutes

* Foi'syth's Highlands of Central les Nat. de I'Empire Russe, pt. iii.
India, p. 146. p. 25.

* Forbes Leslie's Early Races of ^ Voyage to Congo, Pinkerton,
Scotland, vol. ii. p. 496. Campbell, vol. xv. p. -'7.3.

Wild Tribes of Khoiniistan, p. 120. ^ Travels, vol. iv. p. 36, vol. vi.

* Bell's Travels from St. Peters- p. -344.
burg, vol. i. p. '274.

; l,-Vi,*V I

.1.

'.. * i '

■■■■ i ,

:*..

,.J»i„.

I ■

ut|

318

SUNDRY WORSHIPS.

*■ set deep in the west, they utter a loiul shout of " Kua ! "
^ and vociferate prayers to it.' ^ Herodotus '*^ mentions
that the Atarantes used to curse the sun as he passed
over their heads.

It is remarkable that the heavenly bodies do not
appear to bo worshipped by the Polynesians. The
natives of Erromango, however, according to Mr.
J^reiu'liley, worship the moon, having stone images of
the form of new and full moons. '^ According to Lord
Kames, ' the inhabitants of Celebes formerly acknow-
' lodged no gods i ■ tlie sun and moon.' * The people
of P)orneo are said to have done the same.

The worship of ancestors is a natural development
of the dread of ghosts, and is another widely distributed
form of religious belief ; which, however, I shall not
enter into hero, as it may be more con^'^eni'^ntly con-
sidered when we come to deal with Idolatry.

These are the principal deitieh' ^2 ma.i in this stage
of his religious development. They are, however, as
already mentioned, by no means the only ones.

The heavens and earth, thunder, lio-htninof, and
winds were regarded as deities in variois parts of the
world. The Scythians worshipped an iron scimetar as
a symbol of the war- god ; ' to this scimetar they bring
' yearly sacrifices of cattle and horses ; and to these
* scimetars they offer more sacrifices than to the rest of
' their gods.' ^ In the Sagas many of the swords have
special names, and are treated with the greatest respect.
Similarly the Feejecans regarded ' certain clubs with

' Li\iiigstone"8 Joiivueysiii Suiilh
Africa, ]>. L*.")o.

'^ Herodotus, iv. 184.

^ ( 'i Lii:^e of the * Curafoa," ]>. o^K,

' llistorv of Man, vol. iv. p. 2o±

■' Herodotus, iv. (j2. See also

Kleuiin, Werkzeuji-t' uiul Wifleii, p.

SUNDRY WOE SHIPS.

319

' superstitious respect ; ' ^ and the negroes of Jrawo, a
town in Western Yoruba, worshipped an iron bar with
very expensive ceremonies.'* The New Zealanders,
some of the Melanesians, and the Dahomans worshipped
the rainbow.^

When Mr. Williams was murdered at Dillon's Bay,
a piece of red sealing-wax which they found in his
pocket ' was supposed by the natives to be some port-
' able god, and was carefully buried.' *

In Central India, as mentioned in p. 286, a great
variety of inanimate objects are treated as deities. The
Todas are said to worship a buffalo-bell.'^ The Kotas
worship tv/o silver plates, which they regard as husband
and wife ; ' they have no other deity.' ^ The Kurumbas
worship stones, trees, and anthills.^ The Toreas,
another Neilgherry Hill tribe worship especially a
' gold nose-ring, which probably once belonged to one
'of their women.' ^ According to Nonnius, the sacred
lyre sang the victory of Jupiter over the Titans, witli-
out being touched.^ Many other inanimate objects
have also been worshipped. I)e Brosses mentions an
instance of a king of hearts being made into a deity,'*^
and according to some of the earlier travellers in
America, even the rattle was regarded as a deity. ^^

Thus, then, I have attempted to show that animals

IH ;;

• Fiji and tlie Fijians, vol. i. \\

!1U.

- Burton's AbbcoKuta, vol. i. ji.
l!ti>.

■' Ikuloii's Mission to Dahome,
vol. ii. p. 148. Trans. Fthn. Soc.
1870, p. 307.

Turner's Nineteen i'ears in
Polynesia, p. 487.

'5 The Trile.s of tlie Noil^'liorrie.-,

p. 15.

" Ihid. p. 114.

'' 'i'raiis. J'ltlin. Soc, vol. vii, p,
•276.

^ The Tribes of the Neil^i'liorries,
p. 07.

** Latitau, vol. i. \>. L'Oo.

"^ Luc. cU. p. 52.

" Ihid. p. 211.

^>r

■if '

u 2l',/i

:;:>o

suMHi'Y wni{,>inrs.

;md plants, water, inoniitnins .'md stones, fire, tlie
heavenly bodies, and a variety of other objects, are, or
have been, all very extensively and often simultane-
ously worshipped, so that they do not form the basis of
a natural classification of religions.

321

CHAPTER YII.

KKLIGION {cundaded).

HAVING thus given my reasons for regarding as
unsatisfactory the classifications of religions which
have been adopted liitherto, I will now endeavour to
trace up the gradual evolution of religious beliefs, begin-
ning with the Australia IS, who possess merely certain
vague ideas as to the existence of evil spirits, and a
general dread of witchcraft. This belief cannot be said
to influence them by day, but it renders them very
unwilling to quit the camp-fire by night, or to sleep
near a grave. They have no idea of creation, nor do
they use prayers ; they have no religious forms, cere-
monies, or worship. They do not believe in the
existence of a Deity, ^ nor is morality in any way con-
nected with their religion, if such it can be called. The
words ' good ' or ' bad ' had reference to taste or bodily
comfort, and did not convey any idea of right or wrong.^
Another curious notion ^f the Australians is, that white
men are blacks who have risen from the dead. This
idea was fou^;l among the natives north of Sydney
.IS early as 1795, and can scarcely, therefore, be of mis-
sionary origin.^ It occurs also among the negroes of

' Hoport of the (Joiumitteeof the Australia, vol. ii. p)). .']r>4, ,'3or), ,%(>.
Legislative Council on Ak .igines, ^ Collins" English Colony in N. S.

Victoria, 1 Sol), pp. 0,00, 77. Wales, p. .'J03.

'^ l\vre"8 Discoveries in Central

d.ai'

322

JiKUaiONS OF AUSTRAUANS.

Guinea, New Calerlonia, and olsowhere.' The

opi ;ons

of the Australians on such points, however, ..eei i to
have been very various and confused. They ha*' cer-
tainly no general and definite view on the subjecl .

A •; ) '^gards the North Australians we have trust-
won hy accounts given by a Scotchwoman, Mrs.
T? M'uop, who was Avrecked on the Prince of Wales
Island, lier husband and the rest of the crew v/ere
drowned, but she was saved by the natives, and lived
with them nearly five years, until the visit of tiie
' Rattlesnake,' when she escaped with some difficulty.
On the v>fhole she was kindly treated by the men,
though the women were long jealous of her, a .id be-
haved towards her with much cruelty. These people
had no idea of a Supreme Being.'"^ ^hey did not
believe in the immortality of the soul, but held that
they are ' after death changed into white people or
' Europeans, and as such pass the second and final
' period of their existence ; nor is it any part of their
' creed that future rewards and pimishments arc
' awarded.' ^

Mrs. Thomson was sv'?i^03ed to be the ffhost of Gioni.
a diuighter of a man named Piaquai, and when she was
teased by children, the men would often tell them to
leave her alone, saying, ' Poor thing ! she is nothing —
' only a ghost.' This, however, did not prevent a man
named Boroto making her his wife, which shows how
little is actually implied in the statement that Australians
believe in spirits. They really do no more .han believe

^ Smith's Guinea, p. 215. Bos-
man, Pinlrerlon's Voyages, vol. xvi.
p. 401.

* M icpillivray's Toyafie of tlie
' Eattlesnake,' vol. ii. p. 'Al.
3 Loc. at. p. 29.

VEDDA IIS, CA LIFORNLl XS.

.^23

in the cxlstencie of men somowluit ditVon^nt from, and a.
little more ]- ^werfnl than themselves. The South
Australians, as described hy Stephens, had no religious
rites, ceremonies, or worship ; no idea of a Supreme
Beinp^, but a vague dread of evil spirits.'

The Veddahs of Ceylon, according to L)avy, believe
in evil beings, but ' have no idea of a supreme and bene-
' ficent God, or of a state of futur existence, or of a
' system of Howards and punishmetits and, in conse-
' quence, they are of opinion tb.<r it ignities little
' whether they do good or evil.' ^

The Indians of California hi>ve been well described
]>y Father l^aegert, a Jesuit iui.sionary, who lived
among them no less than seventeen years.^ As to
government or religion, he says,"^ ' neither the one nor
' the other existed among them. They had ao magis-
' trates, no i)olice, and no laws ; idols, temples, religious
' worship, or ceremonies were unknown to them, and
' they neither believed in the true and only God nor
' adored false deities.

' I made diligent inquiries among those with whom
' I lived, to ascertain whether they had any conception
' of God, a future life, and their own souls, but I never
' could discover the slightest trace of such a knowledue.
' Their language has no words for " God " and '• soul,"
' for which reason the missionaries were compelled to
' use in their sermons and religious instructions the
' Spanish words Dio,s and abna. It could hardly be
' otherwise with people who thought of nothing but

' Stephens' South Australia, p.

» Davy's Ceylon, p 118.

' Nachrichten von der Amer.

Halb. Californie, 1773. Trauslated
in Smithsonian Reports, la03-4.

■* Smithsonian Reports, 180-1, p.
3ft0.

If'

•\

■:.:t(:

324 REUGmns IDEAS OF THE nALTEOlfNTANS.

' catin<^ iind ^lcrry-IUilkiM^^ Jiml never refleclcd on
' serious matters, but dismissed everythiii<i; tliat lay be-
' youd the narrow compass of tlieir conceptions with tlie
' phrase aij)ek(jriri, which means, "Who knows that?"
' I often asked them whether they had never put to
' themselves the question who mi^lit be the Creator
' and i'reserver of the sun, moon, stars, and other
'objects of nature, ])ut was always sent home with a
' vtira, which means "no" in their lanijuajje.'

Mr. Gibbs, speakiu;jf of the, Indians livin<^ in the
valleys drained by the Sacramento and the San doafpiin,
says : ' One of this tribe, who had been for three or four
' years among the whites, and ac(;ompanied the expedi-
' tion, on being questioned as to his own belief in a
' Deity, acknowledged liis entire ignorance on the sui>-
' ject. As regarded a future state of any kind, he avjis
' equally uninformed and indifferent ; in fact, did not
' believe in any for himself. As a reason why his
' ])eople did not go to another country after death,
' while the whites might, he assigned that the Indians
' burned their dead, and he sup})osed there was an end
'of them.' ^

The religion of the Bachapins, a Kaifir tribe, has
been described by Burchell. They luid no outward
worship, nor, so far as he could learn, any pri\ate
devotion ; indeed, they had no belief in a beneficent
Deity, though they feared an evil being called * jMu-
' leemo,' or ' Murimo.' They had no idea of creation.
Even when Burchell suggested it to them, they did not
attribute it to Muleemo, but * asserted that everything
' made itself, and that trees and herbage greu' l)y thcii*

' Schoolcraft's Indian Tribe*^, vol. iii. p. 107.

JIACHA P TNS. KA FFfTtS.

32.''»

' I

own will. ' riioy l)('lit'vt'(l in soivory. and in the
efficacy of amulets.

Dr. Xanderkemp, the first missionary tu the Kaffirs,
' never could jtcrceive that they had any reh^ion. or any
'idea of the existence of (loch' Mr. Motfatt also, who
lived in South Africa as a missionary for many years,
says that they wer<' utterly destitute of theolo<ricaI
ideas; and l>i'. (Jai'dner, in his 'Faiths of the World,'
concludes as i'ollows : ''^ ' From all that can he ascertained
'on tlie religion of the Kaffirs, it seems that those of
' them who an; still in their heathen state have no idea,
' (I) of a Su|)reme Intelligent liuler of the universe ;
' (2) of a Sabhath ; (8) of a day of judgment; (4) of
'the guilt and [)ollution of sin ; (5) of a Saviour to
' deliver tliem from the wrath to come.'

The l^ev. Canon Callaway has recently published a
very interesting memoir on ' The Religious System of
' the Amazulu,' who are somewhat more advanced in
their religious conceptions. The first portion is entitled
' Unkulunkulu, or the Tradition of Creation.' It does
not. however, appear that l^nkulunkulu is regarded as
Ji Creator, or even as a Deity at all. It is simply the
first man, the Zulu Adam. Some complication arises
from the fact that not only the ancestor of all mankind,
but also the first of each tribe, is calbnl Unkulunkulu,
so that there are many Onkulunkulu, or Unkulunkulus.
None of them, however, have any of the characters of
Deity ; no pi'ayers or sacrifices are offered to them ; ^
indeed, they no longer exist, having been long dead."
Unkulunkulu was in no sense a Creator," nor, indeed, is

' Travels, vol. ii. p. /jSO. * Zw. cit. pp. 15, 3.'i, 02.

■^ Lor. (if. ].. -jm. '•> Lo . rit. p l.'J7.

'' Loc. cit. pp. ',), 25, at, 75.

*tl

Vin;-

'.X

3'IC)

KAtTlhS.

It" r

? r

nny spccinl power nttrihuted to liiin.^ Wo, I.e. iniin,
arose from ' Uthliin<rJj/ tliat is ' a bed of reeds,' l)iit
liow lie did so no one knew.*'^ Mr. Callaway a<^re('8
with (/asalis, that ' it never entered tlie heads of the
' Zulus that the earth and sky nu«rht he the work of an
' invisible being.' ^ One native thought the uhite nun
nuide the world. ^ i'hey had, indeed, no idea of or
name for God.^ Wlien Moffatt endeavoured to explain
to a chief about God he exclaimed, ' Would that I conld
' catch it! J would transfix it with \\\y spear ; ' yet this
was a man 'whose judgment on other sulyects would
' command attention.' "

Yet they are not witliout a belief in invisible beings.
This is founded partly on the shadow, but principally
on the dream. They regard the shadow as in someway
the spirit which accompanies the body (reminding us of
the similar idea among the Greeks), and they have a
curious notion that a dead body casts no shadow."

Still more important has been the influence of
dreams. When a dead father or brother appears to a
man in his sleep he does not doubt the reality of the
occurrence, and hence concludes that their s[)irits still
live. As, however, they rju*ely dream about their
grandfathers, they suppose them to be dead.^

Diseases are regarded as being often caused by the
spirits of discontented relatives,

In Samoa it wa; supposed that the spirits of the
de})arted ' had power to return and cause disease and

• Loc. cif. p. 48.

• Lov. rit. pp. J>, 40.

» Lov. cif. pp. r)4, 108.
■• Luc. cif. p. 55.

^ Lor. cif. pp. ]07, 118. im.
« Lor. cif. p. 1 11 .
' Lac. cif. p. !»1.
•* Luc. cit. p. 15.

Sl'lliirs OF THE hEVAUTElK

887

' (leufli in otiior nuMnl)erH of the t'aniily. Ilcncc, all were
' nnxious as a pfrnon drrw near i\\v. cIoho of lift! to part
' on ^'ood tennrt with him, feL'lin;^" aHHiiivd that, if he
' (lied with aii^^ry feiilin^'s towards any one, he would
' certainly return, and brin«( some calaniity upon tha*
' very person (jr some one closely allied to him.' '

A case is on record in which a Brahman put his
mother to death, not (mly with the old woman's con-
sent, but at her own re(piest, in order that her s^)irit
mij^ht punish a neighbour who had offended her.

In other respects these s[)irits are not regarded as
possessing any special powers ; though prayed to, it is
not in such a manner as to indicate a belief that they
have any supernatural influence, and they are clearly
not regarded as immortal. In some cases departed s[)irits
lU'e regariled as reappearing in the form of snakes,'-^
which may be known from ordinary snakes by certain
signs,^ such as their frequenting huts, not eating mice,
and showing no fear of man. Sometimes a snake is
recognised as the representative of a given man by some
peculiar miu'k or scar, the absence of an eye, or some
other similar point of resend)lance.

In such cases sacritices are sometimes offered to the
snake, and, when a bullock is killed, part is |)ut away for
the use of the dead, or Amatongo, who are sjR'cially
invited to the i'east, whose assistance is requested,
and wrath deprecated. Yet this can hardly- be called
' ancestor-worship.' The dead have, it is true, the
advantage of invisibility, but they are not ret aided
as onniipreseut, onmipotent, or iminurtal. I'lieic are

.1 *\

'*i

• *

' 'riinier's Nineteen YeHi-s in
Polynejiia, p. '2'Sii.

-' Luc. (it. p. «.

^ Loi\ cit. pp. 108, lyy.

• -. i

'- • *
. i

ill if 1!

'5 M "^l-'l'

f!l:

i:|

32h

FETICIUSM.

even means by which troublesome spirits may be de-
stroyed or ' laid.' ^ In such cases as these, then, Ave see
religion in a very low phase ; that in which it consists
merely of belief in the existence of evil beings, less
material than we are, but mortal like ourselves, and if
more powerful than man in some respects, even less so
in others.

FETICIIISM.

In the Fetichism of the negro. Religion if it can be
so called, is systematised, and greatly raised in import-
ance. Nevertheless from ancfner point of view Fetich-
ism may almost be regarded as cai anti-religion. It
has hitherto been defined as the worship of material
substances. This does not seem to me to be its true
characteristic. Fetichism is not truly a form of ' wor-
' ship ' at all. For the negro believes that by means
of the fetich he can coerce and control his deity. \\\ fact,
Fetichism is mere witchcraft. AVe have already seen
(^ante, p. 244) that magicians all over the world think
that if they can obtain a part of an enemy the possession
of it gives tliem a power over him. Even a bit of his
clothing will answer tiie purpose, or, if this cannot be
got, it seems to them natural that an injury even to his
image would aflect the original. That is to say, a man
who can destroy or torture the image thus inflicts pain
on the original, and this. ])eing magical, is independent
of the power of that original. Even in Europe, and in
the eleventh century, some unforturate dt-ws were ac-
cused of having murdered a certain I»isho]) Eberhard

' Luc. cit. p. 1(!0.

HINJiOSTAX.

3ii;»

in this way. Tlioy iiiiKk' ii wax image of liini, had it
baptised, and tliun burnt it, and so the liishop died.

I^ord Kanies saj^s that at the time of Catherine de
]\ledicis ' it was connnon to take the resembhnice of
'eneiuies in wax, in order to torment them by roasting*
' tlie figure at a slow lire, and pricking it »vitli nee(Ues.' '

In India, says Dubois,- '<i quantity of nnid is
'moulded into small liii'iu'es, on the breasts of which
' tliey write the name of the persons whom they mean

' to annoy i'hey pierce the images with

' thorns or mutilate them, so as to coinmnnicate a cor-
' responding injury to the person representc^d.'

Now, it seems to me that Fetichism is an extension
of this belief. The negro supposes that the possession
of a fetich representing a spirit makes that spirit his
servant. We know that the ne^Toes Ijeat their fetich
if their prayers are unanswered, and I believe they
seriously think they thus inflict suffering on tlie actual
deity. Thus the fetich cannot fairly be called an idol.
Ihe same image or object may indeed be a fetich to one
man and an idol to another ; yet the two are essentiall}'
different in their nature. An idol is indeed an object
of worship, while, on the contrary, a leticli is intended
to bring the deity within the control of m:ui — an attempt
which is less al)siird than it at first sight appears, when
considered in connection WMth their low i-eligious ideas.
If, then, wit(;hcraft be not ccjnl'used with n.'ligion, as
I think it ought not to be, Fetichism can hardly be
called a religion ; to the true spirit of which it is indeed
entirely op))ose(l.

n i\

' \,')\(l Kiinu's" llistiny ol' .Man, \m1 i\ . ]i. l'<I|
* Luc, tit. p. .'>4r.

330

NEGROES.

If!

'■n

Anything will do for a fetich; it need not represent
the human figure, thougli it may do so. Even an ear
of maiae will answer the purpose. ' If,' said an intelligent
negro to Bosman,^ ' any of us is resolved to undertake
anything of importance, we first of all search out a god
to prosper our designed undertaking ; and, going out
of doors with this design, take the first creature that
presents itself to our eyes, whether dog, cat, or tlie
most contemptible animal in the world, for our god ;
or, perhaps, instead of that, any inanimate object that
falls in our way, whether a stone, or piece of wood, or
anything else of the same nature. This new-chosen
god is immediately presented with an offering, which
is accompanied with a solemn vow, that if he pleaseth
to prosper our undertakings, for the future we will
always worship and esteem him as a god. If our de-
sign prove successful, we have discovered a new and
assisting god, which is daily presented with fresh
offerings ; but if the contrary happen, the new god is
rejected as a useless tool, and consequently returns to
his primitive estate. We make and break our gods
daily, and consequently are the masters and inventors
of what we sacrifice to.'

The term Fetichism is generally connected with the
legro race, but a corres|)onding state of mind exists in
uany other parts of the world. In fact, it may almost
be said to be universal, since it is nothing more nor less
than witchcraft; and in the most advanced countries —
even in our own — the belief in witchcraft has scarcely
l)een entirely eradicated.

' Bijsmaira Guiiiea, PiiiKt'i'toirs lioyer (1701), Astleys Collection,
A'oyagt'8, Vol. \\\. p. JU:;. Seii also vol. ii, p. 4 U).

' :>■

'•0(1 s

FFTICUISM IN OTHER RACES.

33i

Tlie Ba(laf,^as (llindostau), according to Mctz, are
still in a ' condition little above Fetieliisni. Anytliini»'
' with them may become an object of adoration, if the
' head man or the villaj^e priest should take a fancy to
' deify it. As a necessary consequence, however, of this
'state of things, no real respect is entertained towards
' their deities, and it is not an nncoinmon thing to hear
' the people call them liars, and use opjirobrions epithets
' respecting them.' ^ Again, speaking of the Chota Nag-
pore tribes of Central India, Colonel Djdton observes
that certain ' peculiarities in the paganism of the Oraon,
' and only practised by Moondahs who lived in the same
' village with them, appear to me to savour thorougtdy
' of Fetichism.' "^

In Jeypore*' the body of a small musk-rat is re-
garded as a powerful talisman. ' The body of this
■ animal, dried, is enclosed in a case of brass, silver,
' or gold, according to the means of the individual, and
' is slung around the neck, or tied to the arm, to render
'the individual proof r gainst all evil, not excepting
' sword and other cuts, musket-shot, c^lc.'

The Abors of Bengal worship trees, and if mis-
ibrtunes occur, ' they retaliate on the spirits by cutting
' down trees.' '*

The Ostiiiks have fetiches to which tluy olfer
praters nnd sacrifices. But if tliesc mi'c iuetfcctuai. they
abuse, beat and even mutilate thcui.''

In all these cjises the tribes seem to me to be

i^"i

' The Trilii's ul' lliu Neilglienii'S, vi. y. i.'"-*.

ji. (!(». ' liall Di's. litliii. of IJoiigal,

■' 'I'latif*. Kthii. SdC, N.S., vul.xi. p. :.'■").

■ 1 1 i>i.ilt> I U'c(iu\rrti'> duns |)liis.
^ hSIiortt, Trails, lltlin, .Sue. \ul. cuntr. dr la J{ii-,sle, vnl. iii. |i. J47.

is*

832

INDIA. NORTH AMT:RWA.

naturally in tlie state oi Fetichisiii, disguisiid, liowever,
and modified by fragments of the higher Hindoo reli-
gions, whieh they have adopted without understanding.

Though the Redskins of North America have readied
a higher state of religions development, they still retain
fetiches in the form of ' luedicine-bag?-.' ' Every Indir'i,'
says Oatlin,' • in his primitive state, CL:rries his medieine-
' hag in som(! form or other,' and to it he looks ibr [)ro-
tectiou and safety. The nature of the medicine-bag is
thus determined : — At Iburteen or fifteen years of age
tlie boy wanders away alone u[)on the prairii;, where he
remains two, three, four, or even five days, lying on the
H'l-oinid musino' and fastin<»:. PFe remains awake as lonu;
as he can, but when he sleeps the first animal of which
he dreams becomes his ' medicine.' As soon as ])ossil)le
he shoots an animal ol' the species in question, and
makes a medicine-bag of the skin. To tliis he looks for
protection, to this he sacrifices ; unlike the fickle negro,
however, the Redskin never changes his fetich. To him it
becomes an emblem of success, like the shield of the Greek,
or the more modern sword, and to lose it is disgrace.

The Coliuubian Indians have small figures in the
form of a ([uadruped. bird, or fish. These, thc:\<»;h called
ideals, are rather fetiches, l)ecause, as all disease is attri-
buted to them, when anyone is ill they are beaten to-
gether, and the first which loses a tooth or claw iw sup-
posed to be the culprit."'^

In China.''^ also, the lower people, ' it", after long
' piayiug to their unages, they do not obtain what they
' desire, as it often hapj)ens, they turn them oH' as im-

' Aiin'iiiniii Indians, Vdl. i. p. ."10. '■ Astley's ( 'olli'i'tion of N'ovagos,

- Dunn's Drofrnn, p. J25. \<,il. iv. p. -Jl.i.

a^^e

fHWA.

potont rrods ; otlipis iiise them in a most roprnaoliriil
mnnnor, loaflinfj; them witli Imrd names, and somrtimcs
Avith hlows. " How now, doii^ of a spirit ! " say thoy
to them ; "we give yon a lodging in a magnificent
" temple, we gild you handsomely, feed yon well, and
" offer incense to yon ; yet, after all this care, you are
" so nngrateful as to refuse us what we ask of yon."
Hereupon they tic this image with cords, pluck liim
down, and drag him along the streets, through all the
nuid and dunghills, to punish liim for the expense of
perfume which they have thrown away npon liim. If
in the meantime it happens that they ohtain their re-
quest, then, with a great deal of ceremony, they wash
him clean, carry him hack, and plar-e him in his niche
again ; where they fall down to him. jmd make ex-
enses for what they have done. " In a truth," say
they, " we wei'c a little too hasty, as Avell as you were
" somewhat too long in your grant. Why should you
" hrinir this heatino; on yourself? Ihit what is done
" cannot be now undone ; let us r therefore think of
" it any more. If you will forge vhat is past, we will
" gild you over again." '

Pallas, speaking of the Ostia . states that, ' Malgn'i
la veneration et le res])ect rpr*^- out ])our leurs idoles,
malheur a ellei^ lorsqu'il arri\ r un malheur a I'Ostiak,
et que I'idole n'y remedie }>as. 11 la jctte alors ])ar
terre, la frappe, hi maltraHe. et la l)rise en morceaux.
Cette correction arrive frequenunent. Cette colrre est
commune a tons les peuples idi latres de la Siherie.' ^
Midler also- makes very similar statements. Dr. Ger-

■ ft
H

.■ayos.

1 Piillas" Vnyaires, vdI. iv. p. 70.

^ Du'. (le toutt\s Ifcs Xat. d" rKmp. Kiifiije, pt. iii. \^. 151.

' ■

Mi ^^

1 1

334

^r.^nAaAsrAR. Africa.

land, ill the (xmliiiuiition of Waltz' 'Anthropologio,'
inentioiis several cases of I*'eticliisiii in Polynesia.'

In Madai'jiscar a snudl l^asket was in every house
hnnfj^ a<:;ainst the northern roof-post, and in it was
placed the fetich, Avliicli was sometimes a stone, some-
times a leaf, a flower, or a [)iece of wood, 'j'his 'is the
' household " sampy," or cliarm, wliich is trusted in and
' pi'ayed to as a |)rotection from evil.' '

Jn Wliy<lali (Western Africa), and I Itelieve gene-
rally, the negroes will not eat the animal or plant which
they have chosen for their f(!tich.* In Issini, on the
contrary, ' eating the fetich ' is a solemn ceremony
on taking an oath, or as a token of friendship.'^

Fetichism, strictly speaking, has no temples, idols,
priests, sacrifices, or prayer. It involves no belief in
creation or in a future life, and a fortiori none in a state
of rewards and punishments. It is entirely indepen-
dent of morality. In most, however, of the powerful
negro monarchies, religion has made some progress in
organisation ; but though we find both sacred buildings
and priests, the religion itself shows little, if any, intel-
lectual improvement.

TOTK.MlS^r.

The next stage in religious progress is that which
may be called Totemism. The savage does not abandon
his beHef in Fetichism, from which, indeed, no race of
men has yet entirely freed itself; but he superinduces

' Loo. (it. \nl. vi. ].p. '.V2-2, .'Ml. '' rbillips, 1(108. Astley, vol. ii.

- Sihrees .Madagascar and its p. 411.
reoplo, p. -204. '» Lover, 1701, toc. rif. p. 4.'3(t.

*.>■■;

TOTEM IS }f.

335

on it a Ijclii'f in bc'infi:s of a hiifhcr and loss niatorial
nature. In tliis stage cverytliing may be worshipped
— trees, stones, rivers, nionntains, tlie heavenly liodies,
and animals ; but tlie hit!;her deities are no lonovr re-
f^arded as liable to be controlled by witchcraft. Still
they are not rejL^arded as Creators ; they do not reward
virtue, or punish vice. The spirits of the departed have
before them a weary and dan<i;erous journey, and many
perish by the way ; heaven, however, seems to be
merely a distant part of the earth.

Even the deities still inhabit this eartli ; they are
part of nature, not supernatural ; in fact, we may say
that in Fetichism the deit' •. nre non-human, in Tote-
mism superhuman, but d< not become supernatural
until a still further stage of mental development.

Again, Totemism is a deification of classes ; tlie
fetich is an individual. The negro who has, let us say,
an ear of maize as a fetich, values that particular ear,
more or less as the case may be, but has no feeling for
maize as a species. On the contrary, the Redskin who
regards the bear, or the wolf, as his totem, feels that
he is in intiniate, thongh mysterious, association with
the whole s})ecies.

The name ' Totemism' is of North American origin,
and is primarily used to denote the form of religion
widely prevalent among the I'edskins of that continent,
but similar religious views are held in various other
parts of the world.

In or»ler to realise clearly the essential character-
istics of the religions of different races, we must bear iu
mind that at the stage at which we have now arrived in
the course of our eiKiuiry, the modifications of which a

-' ; -I'.:

n36

TOTE^Tls^r.

rfl:.'

religion is sus('C'j»ti1>l(! iii;iy lu' dividod into two classes,
viz. (l('V('l()})montal and a<la[)tati()nal, or adaptive. I
use the toi'iii ' <levelo[)inental ' to si«;'nify tliose clianges
whicli arise from the iiiteDectual progress of the raee.
Thus a more elevated idea of the Deity is a develop,
mental change. On the other hand, a Northern ])eoj)le
is apt to look on the snn as a heneticent deity, while to
a tro[)ieal raee it would suggest drought and destruc-
tion. Again, hunters tend to worship the moon, agri-
culturists the sun. These I call adaptational moditica-
tions. They arc changes produced, not by diffeivnce of
race or of civilisation, but by physical causes.

In some cases the character of the language has pro-
bably exercised much influence over that of religion.
No one, for instance, can fail to be struck l)y the differ-
ences existing between the Aryan and Semitic religions.
All Aryan races have a complicated mythology, Avhich
is not the case with the Semitic races. Moreover, the
character of the gods is quite different. The latter have
J^]l, Strong, Bel or Baal, Lord ; Adonis, Lord ; Shet,
IVIaster ; Moloch, King ; Ram and Rhunion, the Exalto^-l ;
and other similar names for their deities. The Aryans,
on the contrary, Zeus, the sky ; Pha'bus Apollo, the
sun ; Neptune, the sea ; Mars, war ; A^enus, beauty, &c.
]Max Miiller ^ has very ingeniously endeavoured to ex-
plain this difference by the different character of the
laniTuaire in these two races.

As a ji'eneral rule nations in whose lanLCuaii'es the
division of the nouns into classes has no reference to the
distinctions of sex. possess no mythology ; and though
there are some a])parent exceptions, it is probable, as

' See Miiller's('lii]iri from ii (lermaii Wnr]i.'<lio|), vol. i. p. Mdo.

CONTRAST OF ARYAN AM) SEMITIC RjJLIGWX. 337

Dr. l)leck has suggested,^ that in such casus the ' hiii-
' j;iiagv.H, it' not at the present day sex-dcnuting, may
' forniorly liavc been so,' and that thus tlie presence of
inherited mythological ideas in a nation may give evi-
dence of a former state of its lanicuafi^e, a state of wliich
all other evidence may have now disa])peared.

Again, in Semitic words the root remains always
distinct and unmistakable. In Aryan, on the contrary,
it soon becomes altered and disguised. Hence Semitic
dictionaries are mostly arranged according to the roots,
a niethvxi wliich in Aryan languages would be most
iw:COiiv<^nk'nt, the root being often obscure, and in many
CHses doubtful. Now, take such an expression as ' the
' sky thunders.' In any Semitic tongue the word ' sky '
would remain unaltered, and so clear in its meaning
that it would with difficulty come to be thought of as
a proper name. But among the Aryans the case was
dift'erent, and we find in the earlier Vedic poetry that
the names of the Greek gods stand as mere words de-
noting natural objects. Thus the Sanskrit Dyaus, the
sky, became th^^ Greek Zeus, and when the Greek said
Zev<s fipovTa his idea was not ' the sky thunders,' but
' Zeus thunders.' AVhen the gods were thus once
created, the mythology follows as a matter of course.
Some of the statements may be obscure, but when we
ape told that Hupnos, the god of sleep, was the father
of Morpheus, the god of dreams ; or that ^'enus, married
to Yulcan. lost her heart to Mars, and that the intrigue
was made known to Yulcan by Apollo, the sun, we can
clearly nee how such myths might have arisen.

' On Resemblances in Bushman and Australiau Mythology, t'ape Monthly
Magiiisiiif, February, 1874.

■ A'.

k^lf!

:.)! !

5 \

. ' I. ft .?/■ ' 11'. J '■'jas''

till'

'< f <

•,m

.vrw.s.

The nttitiulc of the ancients towards tliem i,^ very
interestinii;. Homer and Flesiod relate them, apparently
witliout suspieion, and we may ho sure that the un-
e(hieated puhhc reeeived them witliout a <h)ubt. So-
crates, however, explains the story that I'loreas carried
oft* Oreithyia from the Ilissos, to mean that Oreithyia
was blown off the rocks by the north wind. Ovid also
says that under the name of Vesta, mere fire is to be
understood. We can hardly doubt that many others
also must have chsarly perceived the ori^pn of at any
rate a ])ortion of these myths, but they were probably
restrained from expressing their opinion by the dread
of incurring the odium of heterodoxy.

One great charm of this explanation is that ^vo thus
remove some of the revolting Icatures of ancient myths.
Thus, as the sun destroys the darkness from which it
springs, and at evening disappears in the twilight, so
G^^dipus was fabled to have killed his father, and then
married his mother. In this way the whole of that ter-
rible story may be explained as arising, not from the
depravity of the human heart, but from a mistaken ap-
plication of the statement that the sun destroys the
darkness, and ultimatelv marries, as it were, the twilight
from which it sprang.

But although ]vjetry may thus throw much light on
the origin of the myths which formed the religion of
Greece and Kome, it cannot explain the origin or cha-
racter of religion among the lower savages, because a
mythology such as that of Greece and Kome can only
arise amongst a people which have already made con-
siderable progress. True, myths do not occur among
the lowest races. Even in Madagascai', according to a

ii-f'

SHAM AS ISM.

330

poon niitliority,^ * tlioro is notliiiii,^ rorrcsudiidiiiu- to a
' mytli()l(i;j:y, or any fables of ufods or «iO(l(l('sscs, amonii'st
' tlie Malai^asv.' T{Mni)tiii<»;. tliorcfore, as it m;iv lie t«»
sook in tlio nature of lanunauo and tin* nsc of jxH-ficid
expressions an explanation of the relinioiis sysleins of
tlio lower races, and fully adinittinu' tlie Inlliienee wliicli
these causes have exercised, ^\o must look deeper for
the nriijin of reliu'ion, and can be satisfied only bv an
explanation which is a]>plical»lo to the lowest races pos-
sessing .any reliixious o])iiiions. In tlu^ ])reee(linn- chapters
I have attemjited to do this, and to show how certain
phenomena, as for instance sleep and dreams, pain,
disease, and death, have naturally create<l in the savaii'e
mind a belief in the existence of mysterious and invisiljle
beings.

?♦• >■

."J ■

SIIAMANlS>r.

As Totemism overlies Fetichism,so does Shamanism
overlie Totemism. The word is derived i'rom the name
used in Siberia, where the ' Shamans ' work themselves
up into a fury, supposing or pretending that in this con-
dition they are inspired by the S])irit in whose name they
speak, and through whose inspiration they ai-e enabled
to answer questions as well as to foretell the future.
In the phases of religion liitherto considered the deities
(if indeed they deserve the name) are regarded as
visible to all, and present amongst us. Shamanism is a
considerable advance, inasnuich as it presents us with ji
higher conception of religion. Although the name is
Siberian, the phase of thought is widely distributed, and
seems to be a necessary stage in the i)rogress of religious

rvri-

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Sibree's Mada<raFcar and its People, p. .'JOG.

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(716) 172^503

340

miiERlA. THE ESQUIMAUX.

develoj)inent. Those who are disposed to adopt the
view advoeated in this work will not be surj)rised to
iind that ' Shanianisni ' is no definite system of tlieolo«ry.
Wrangel, however, regarding Shanianisni as a religion
in the ordinary sense, was astonished at this. ' It is re-
' niarkable,' he says, * that Shamanism has no dogmas
' of any kind ; it is not a system taught or handed down
' from one to another ; though it is so widely spread, it
' seems to originate with each individual separately, as
' the fruit of a highly excited imagination, acted upon
' by external impressions, which closely resemble each
' other, throughout the deserts of Northern Siberia.' ^

It is far from always easy in practice to distinguish
Shamanism from Totemism on the one hand, and
Idolatry on the other. The main difference lies in the
conception of the Deity. In Totemism tmi deities in-
habit our earth ; in Shamanism they live generally in a
world of their own, and trouble themselves little about
what is passing here. The Shaman, however, is occa-
siomdly honoured by the presence of Deity, or is
allowed to visit the heavenly regions.

Among the Esquimaux the ' Angekok ' answers
precisely to the Shaman. Graali thus describes a scene
in Greenland. The angekok came in the evening, and
* the lamps ^ being extinguished, and skins hung before
' the windows (for such arts, for evident reasons, are
' best practised hi the dark), took his station on the
' floor, close by a well-dried seal-skin there suspended,
' and commenced rattling it, beating the tambourine and
' singing, in which last he was seconded by all present.

» Siberia and Polar Sea, p. 123. j). 12.{. See also E^-ode's Greenland,
' Graali's Voyage to Greenland, p. I6d, and Lyons Journ. p. 3o'J.

!f(jre

are

the

lied,

and

tout.

land,
.1).

P.WTFTC ISLANDS.

841

* From time to time his chant was intorrnptcd by a cry

* of " Goie, Goie, Goie, Goic, Goio, Goic! " the meaninjj
*of which I did not comprehend, cominf]^ first from one
' corner of the hut, and then from the other. Presently
' all was quiet, nothing being heard but the angekok
' puffing and blowing as if struggling with something
' superior to him in strength, and then again a sound

* resembling somewhat that of castanets, wherrupcn
' commence<l once more the same song as before, and
' the same cry of " Goie. Goie, (loie ! " In this way a
'whole hour elapsed before the wizard could make the
'tomgak, or spirit, obey his summons. Come he did,
'however, at last, and his approach was announced
' by a strange rushing sound, very like the sound of
'a large bird flying beneath the roof. The angikok,
' still chanting, now proposed his questions, which
' were replied to in a voice quite strange to my ears,
' but which seemed to me to proceed from the en-
' trance passage near which the angekok had taken his
' station.'

The account given by Cranz agrees with the above
in all essential particulars.*

Williams '^ gives the following very similar account
of a scene in Foejee : — ' Fubroken silence follows ; the
' priest becomes absorbed in thought, and all eyes watch
' hun with unblinking steadiness. In a few minutes he
' trembles ; slight distortions are seen in his face, and
'twitching movements in his limbs. Tliese increase to
' a violent muscular ai tion, which spreads until the
' whole frame is strongly convulsed, and the man shivers

•210.

' History of Greenland, vol. i. p.

.»i't.

Fiji (ind the Fijians, vol. i. p.

!•(

'I. it

■m

i(H

■'>i

* •

' * }

>.«■

U-2

Al'UlCA.

' as with Ji stroiiu; a^nc fit. In .soiiu; instaiiCL's tlii.s is

* a(:com[>ani(il witli luiiniuirs and sobs, tlie veins are
'«^r(!atly enlarged, and the circulation of the blood
'(luickened. The priest is now possessed by I lis god,

* and all his words and actions are considered as no
' lon<];'er his own, but those of the deity who has entered
' into him. Shrill cries of '• Koi au, Koi au! " " It is I,
' ''It is 1! " fill the air, and the god is supposed thus
' to notify his approach. While giving the answer the
' priest's eyes stand out and roll as in a frenzy ; his
' voi«.'e is unnatural, his face pale, liis lips livid, his
'breathing depressed, and his entire ai)i)earanee like that
' of a furious nuidniun: the sweat runs from every pore,
' and tears start from his strained eyes ; after which the
' symptoms gradually disa})j)ear. The priest looks round
' with a vacant stare, and as the god says, " I depart,"
' announces his actual departure by violently fiiiiging
' himself down on the mat, or by suddenly striking the
' iii'ound with his dul. The convulsive movements do
'not entirely disappear for some time.' The process
described by Dobritzhoffer ^ as occurring among the
Abipones is also somewhat similar.

Aujonu' the neirroes of W. Africa, Brue ^ mentions a
' }»rophet ' who i)retended ' to be inspired by the Deity
* in such a nuniner as to know the most hidden secrets ;
' and go invisible wherever he pleased, as well as to
' make his voice be hearc at the greatest distance. His
' disciples and {iccomplices attested the truth of what he
' said by a thousand fabulous relations ; so that the
' couuuon peo})le, alway credulous and fond of novelty.

' llihiorv of llu' Al)iiM)i;e.-^, mI.
ii. i>. 7.!.

'^ AstU'v's Collection of Vi>va;.'i'>,
vol. ii. p. &15.

IDOLATRY.

343

* readily give in to the cheat.' Burton mentions the
same thing in Dahome.^

Colonel Dalton states that 'the paganism of the
' IIo and Moondah in all essential features is Sha-
' manistic.*''

So also among the Kar«'ns the proi)het ' throws

* himself into a state of clairvoyance. He writhes his

* body and limbs, rolls himself on the ground, and often
' foams at the mouth in the violence of his paroxysms.

* When he is satisfied with his condition, he becomes
' calm and makes his prophetic announcement.' '

.7-1,.

'••K''

1 *

•I

IDOLATRY.

The worship of idols characterises a somewhat
higher stage of human development. We find no traces
of it among the lowest races of men ; and Lafitau * says
truly, ' On pent dire en general que le grand nombre
' des peuples sauvages n'a point d'idoles.' The error of
regarding Idolatry as the general religion of low races
has no doubt mainly arisen from confusing the Idol and
the Fetich. Fetichism, however, is an attack on the
Deity, Idolatry is an act of submission to him ; rude, no
doubt but yet humble. Hence, Fetichism and Idolatry
are not only different, but opposite, so that the one
could not be developed directly out of tlie other. ^\'(!
must therefore expect to find between them, as indeed
we do, a stage of religion without eitlier the one or tl»e
other.

' Mission to Daliome, vol. ii. ("hersniiese, p. 157.
p. 158. ' -Mceurs do8 Sauvnges Aiiiori-

^ Traiiti. Etlin. 8oe. I'-'OS, p. 8i>. cuius, vol. i. y. 151.
' The Karens of the CSoldeu

.Mr

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'J .»

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' ' « f

■ f

■. V

f t.

■ . '» :

- i-

'■ .■'.:

1 1;

I-
I'l

844

ABSENCE OF IDOLATRY

Captain I^yon states that the Esquimaux have no
idols. ^ ' Neither among the Iilsquimaux nor the Tinne,'
says Richardson, ' did 1 observe any image or visible
' object of worship.' ''*

Carver mentions that the Canadian Indians had no

idols ; ' and this seems to have been true of the North

American Indians generally. Latitau mentions as an

exception the existence of an idol named Oki in

irgmia.*

In Eastern Africa Burton states that he knows ' but
* one people, the Wanyika, who have certain statuettes
' called Kisukas.' Prichard, however, quotes a com-
munication from Dr. Ivraff, in which it is stated that
' the Wanika are pagan!:', though they have no
images.' * Neither the Kaffirs nor the Bechuanas have
idols.®

Nor do the AVest African negroes worship idols.^ It
is true that some writers mention idols, but the context
almost always shows that fetiches are really meant. In
the kingdoin of Whydali 'Agoye' was represented
under the form of a deformed black man, from whose
head proceed lizards and snakes,® offering a striking
similarity to some of the Indian idols. This is, how-
ever, an exceptional case. Battel only mentions par-
ticularly two idols • and Bosnian ^^ expressly says that

» Journal, p. .'{72.

' Boat Journey, vol. ii. p. 44.

» Travels, p. 887.

* Vol. i. p. 108.

* Priclmrd'fi Nat. Hist, of Man,
vol. ii. p. .108.

® Livinprstono's Travfls in South
Africa, p. ir)8, Maclean's Comp. of
Katllr hawB and ('ustoniH, p. 78.

^ Astley's Collection of Voyages,
vol. ii. p. 240, for Fata, and for
Guinea, as far as Ardrali, p. GOO.

** Astley's Collection of Voyages,
pp. 2(J, 60.

® Adventures of A. Battel. Pin-
kert(n, vol. xvi. p. 3."31.

'" Bosnian's (hiinea. Pinlcerfon,
lor, cit, [), lO.'J.

AMOS(f SAVAGIJS.

845

'\..n

' on the GoKl Coast tlie natives arc not in tlic least
' acquainted with imngc-worship ; ' addin^^, ' but at
Ardra there are thousandw of idols,' i.r. fetichea. At
Loanjjo tliere was a small black iuia<je named Chikokke
which waa placed in a little house close to the port.*
These, however, were merely fetiches in human form.
For instance, we are told by the same author that in
Kakongo, the kingdom which lies to the south of Loango,
the natives during the plague ' burnt their idols, sayii g»
' " If the>i will not help us in such a misfortutic as this
' " li'hen can we c.vpcct they shouhl ! " ' - Thus, ap])a-
rently, doubting not so nuich their power as their will.
Again, in Congo the so-called idols are placed in fields
to protect the growing crops.''' This is clearly the func-
tion of a fetich, not of a true idol.

In Madagascar, though of late years certain idols
were treated with great respect, yet there seems reason
to suppose that this ' idolatrous system is of compara-
'tively modern date.' ^ The Australians and Tas-
manians have no idols.

' Idolatry,' says Williams, of the Feejeean, ' he seems
never to have known ; for ho makes no attempt to
'fashion material representations of his gods.'^ As
regards the New Zealanders, Vate^ says, that 'though
' remarkably superstitious, they have no gods that they
' worship ; nor have they anything to represent a being
' which they call God.' Dieffenbach also observes that

' Astley, h^. cif. p. 210.

» Ibid. p. 217.

' Astley, lor. cit. vol. iii. p. 220.
Livingstone, Expedition to the
Zamb'si, p. r»23.

■• Sihrot', Madnfrasofxr and its

People, p. ?X)(\.

* Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i.
p. 210. Seenian's .Mi.-<.sioii to Viti,
p. 1 o4.

* Loc. cif. p. 111.

. M »* ''I

i: VK-^'

\ '
1 1

I-

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m-\\

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1 ■ '"'"4

-'X

■ n

34G

OJiTGTN OF IDOLATRY.

in New Zwiland ' tliere is no worship) of idols, or of
* bodily reprcs 'ntations of the Atoiia.' ^

The same may be said of the Tongans, while, on the
other hand, the reverwe was the case with the Society
Islanders, and some other I*olynesian tribes. Thj
Tannese had no idols,* and according to Hale this is
true with the Micronesians generally.^

Speaking of the Singe Dyaks,* Sir James Brooke
says, ' Jteligion they have none ; and altliough they
'know the name for a god' (which is probably taken
from the Hindoos), ' they have no priests nor idols, say
' no prayers, offer no offerings.' lie subsequently modi-
fied this opinion on some points, but as regards the
absence of idols it seems to be correct.

In India the Khasias have no temples or idols.''
The Kols of Central India worshij) the sun ; ' material
' idol worship they have none.' ® Originally, says
Dubois, the Hindoos did not resort ' to images of stone
' or other materials .... but when the people of
' India had deified their heroes or other mortals, they
' began then, and not before, to have recourse to statues
'and images.' ' The Karens, again, as a race abstain from
the worship of idols.® In China ' it is observable ^ that
' there is not to be found, in the canonical books, the
' least footstep of idolatrous worship till the image of Fo
' was brought into China, several ages after Confucius.'

> Loc. cit. vol. ii. p. 118. p. 57. Jour. Aiithr. Ins. 1871, p. l.'>0.

* Turner, Nineteen Years in " Dalton, Trans. Etbn. See. X.S.

Polynesia, p. 88. vol. vi. p. 32.

' ]''llino. of the United States ^ Duljois, The People of India,

Ii\p. Exp. pp. 77, 84. p. 370.

■• Keppel's Ivvpedition to Borneo, " M'Mnhon, K. of the Golden

vol. i. i;31. Cliersonese, p. \2'>.

'- Dalton, Des. Kthii. (jf lient'al, ^ Astley, vol. iv. p. 203.

COXXLCl'lOS' WITH THK WOliSllll' (>/ ' .1 \( HSTiUiS. :{47

The Ostvjiks never iiukIc an iiniiuc of tlieir jr'»<i
' Toriiim,' ' and .some other Silxjriaii triU's were without
idols.''' In I'aet, idols do not tjoeur until we arrive at
the Btaj^e of tlie highe»t Polynesian Ishinders. Kveu
then they are often, as Klli8 expressly tells us," mere
sliapeless pieces of wood ; thus leaving Uiueli to the
imagination. It may, I tiiink, l)elaid down almost as a
constant rule, that mankind arrives at the stai^e of
monarchy in government before he reaches idolatry
in religion.

The idol usually assumes the human form, and
idolatry is closely connected with that form of religi<jn
which consists in the worshi[) of ancestors. We have
already seen how imi)erfectly uncivilised man realises
the conception of death ; and Ave cannot woiuler that
death and sleep should long have been intimately con-
nected together in the human mind. The savage, how-
ever, knows well that in sleep the spirit lives, even
thougli the body appears to be dead. Morning after
mornhig he wakes himself, and sees others rise, from
sleep. Naturally, therefore, he endeavours to rouse the
der.d. Xor can we wonder at the very general custom
of providing food and other necessaries for the use of
the dead. Among races leading a settled and (piiet life
this habit would tend to continue lonmT and longer.
Prayers to the dead would reasonably follow from such
customs, for even without attributing a greater power
to the dead than to the living, they might yet, from
their dilferent sphere and nature, exercise a con-

' Ijinaii, lur. cif. vol. ii. p. 50.
" .Miilk'i', Des. de toutes Ics Nat.
do ri'.mpire liu.«se, pt. i. pp. 54, G3.

I\)l\ iie.'«iaii Ke.iourchfS, vul. ii.
p. L'20.

ipt.fl

E.«. ' ■ .' f

;■ H

'MH CONNECTIOS WITH TUK WOliSniT OF AXCl'lSTnh'S.

1 !

sidcrnblo powor, whotlicr for ^ood or evil. Rut it
is iinpoHRihlc to (liHtiiij^uish a request to nn invisi})le
beiu^ from prayer ; or a powerful spirit from a demi-
god.

The worship of ancestors lias by some writers
been regarded as the origin of religion. \ can, how-
ever, not accept this view. It is not specially chanicter-
istic of the lowest savages, and although among them
descent is traced, as we have seen, in the female line, I
do not know any case in which female ancestors were
worshipped.

However this may be, the worship of ancestors is
certainly xary widely distributed.

The Kaffirs sacrifice and pray to their deceased
relatives, although ' it would perha])s be asserting too
' much to say absolutely that they believe in the exist-
' ence and the immortality of the soul.' ^ In fact, their
belief seems to go no further than this, that the ghosts
of the dead haunt for a certain time their previous
dwelling-})laces, and either assist or plague the living.
No special powers are attributed to them, and it would
be a misnomer to call them ' Deities.'

Ancestor-worship also exists among the people of
Angola, of Balonda, and of the Congo. The Nicara-
guans worshipped their ancestors, regarding them as
liaving become ' teotes ' or gods.

In nncivilised societies, when there were no great
differences of rank, deceased spirits would, indeed,
scarcely rise beyond the dignity of ghosts ; but under a
more settled irovernment, the i>hosts of the great would

> The Bn^utos; Capalis, p. 2'lf).
Spo alsd Callaway's I'd i^idiis System

of tlip Amazuli. Liviiifrstoiip, Zam-
l)osi, p. 40.

J^UIA. AI'lilCA. VOLYXESIA.

tend to lx!C()im( j^odn. Tlius it ui»|K'ari<i that in Poly-
uesiu ' the worship <»f uiicesturs hiw tended to i^epluec
tliiit of tlie earlier deities.

The nations of Mysore at the new ni<K)n ' ohserve u
'feast m honour of deeeased parents."'' Tiie Kunnn-
Inirs of the Deccan also ' saerifice to the sjjirits of an-
' cestors,' and the sanie is the case witli the Santals.'
Indeed the worship of ancestors appears to he more or
less prevalent among all the aboriginal trihes of Central
India.

Burton * considers that some of the Kgha deities arc
' palpably men and women of note in their day.'

' The gods whom the New Zealanders fear,' says
Shortland, 'are the spirits of the dead, who are believed
' to be constantly watching over the living with jealous
* eyes.' ^ I have already mentioned that throughout
Polynesia the worship of ancestors prevailed among
the Sandwich Islanders and Samoans, and indeed seems
to have been gaining ground over the older forms of
religion; Hale says broadly ** that the religion of the
Micronesians 'is the worship of the spirits of their
' ancestors.' In Peru, the deceased Yncas were wor-
shipped as gods,^ and in Mexico (^uetzalcoatl was
doubtless, says Prescott, ' one of those l)enefactors of
'their species who have been deified by the gratitude (jf
'posterity.'® In Tanna and other neighbouring islands

' Uerland's (.'ont. of Waitz's
Anthropologie, vol. vi. p. 330.

■■* Buchanan, quoted in Trans,
llllin. Soc. N.S. vol. viii. p. 96.

* Elliott, Trans. Ethn. Soc. N.S.
vol. viii. pp. 104, 100.

* Abbeokuta, vol. i. p. 191.

^ Traditions of the New Zea-

landers, p. 81.

» U. S. Expl. Expedition, p. 77.

^ Garcilasso de la Vega, vol. i.
p. 03. Markluuu, Rites and I^aws of
the Yncas, p. 12.

" Hist, of Mexico, vol. i. p. 40.
See also Wiittke, Ges. der Munsch.
vol. i. p. 202.

'^•

'p,".?
^,-\

1' •

m-^\

■ i

■ ■. 11

f ?*=•.■

floO

snih'h'iA.

thoy worship the spirits of tlicir nnccistors.' ' Tlicrc cnn
hv little (loii!)t,' nnys lliil< '•* sprMkinjr <»f the MicroiicsianH,
' tlint flic «l('ifi('s wor>liipp('il in the Soiitlicrn rliistt-rs

* wen; <nily «l<*ilit'<l <*lii('fs, tlio memory of whose exist.
t'lH'o h.'is Imm'ii lost ifi tho ln])se of timi^ ;' in many eases,
at any rate, worship is avow<'(lly pai«l to th(! spirits
of their ancestors.

( )ther raeos endeavour to preserve ilu' memory of
the <!ea«l hy rude statues. Thus, ancestor-' 'orship is
very prevalent in Siheria. ami I'all;;s'' mentions tliat
the Ostyaks of Siheria ' rendent aiissi un ridte a leins

* morts. IIh scnlptent des fi«^ures de hois pour repn'-

* Henter les Ostiaks celehres. I)ans les rej>as de comim''-
' moration on place devant ces flLrures une ])artie des

* mets. Les femmes fpii ont cheri leurs maris ont de
' ))areilles fi<»:nres, les coiichent avec elles, les parent, et

* ne manjrcnt point sans leur ))resenter une ])artie de
' leur portion.' ICrman'' also mentions that when a
man dies ' the relatives form a rude wooden imai-H!
' representing', and in honour of, the deceased, Avhich is

* set up in their yurt, and receives divine honours ' for
a certain time. ' At every meal they set an offerin<i: of
' food hefore the ima<^e ; and should this represent a
' deceased hushand, the widow emhraces it from time
' to time, and lavishes fm it every fi\<rn of attachment.'
In ordinary cases this semi-worship only lasts a few
years, after which the imai^c is huried. ' But when a
' Shaman dies, this custom chano;es, in his favour, into a

* complete and decided canonisation ; for it is not

' Turner, Ninotoon Years in p. !»".
I'olym'pia, pp. SS, .'J!)4, 411. •' I'allas' Vovnfres, vol. iv. p. 7'.'.

^ J-'tlin. of tilt' r. S. Ivxpl. Exp. * Mrnian, lor. cit. vol. ii. p. *)1.

(mm IS' OF JUOLATRY.

Zo\

K 71 1.

.-,1.

' thoiiji^ht cnoiif(]» that, in this cnso, tlio «lross(»(l l)l(K"k of

* wood whidi roprcsciitM tho dt'cojiMvl hIiouM nrcivc
' Ijomn^c for a limited period, hut I lie ])riest's dc^seend-

* nntH do their ])oat to keep him in vo;^"*^ from •lenera-
' tion to jfonorution ; and l)y well-contrived orades and
' otlior arts thoy manage to procure offcrin^^s foi' these
' their families' penatcs, as ahundant as those laid on
' the altars of the nniversally acknowled^^ed ,i(o<ls. IJut
' that these latter also have an historical ori«;in, that
' they were orii::inally monuments of distin^niished men,
' to which prescription and the interest of the Shamans

* ffixvo. hy dejL!;rees an arhitrary meanin;^ and importance,
' seems to me not liable to douht ; and this is, further-
' more, corroborated by the circumstance that of all the
' sacred yurts dedicated to these saints, which have been
' numerous from the earliest times in the vicinity of the

* river, only one has been seen (near Samarovo) con-

* tainin^j; the imaj^f-e of a woman.'

It seems to me that in other countries also, statues
have in this manner come to be worshipped as deities.

It is, in fact, difficult tr state the oriijcin of idolatry
more clearly than in the following passages from the
' Wisdom of Solomon ' ^ : —

* 13. Neither were they from the beginning, neither
' shall they be for ever.

' 14. For by the vain glory of men they entered
' into the world, and therefore shall they come shortly
' to an end.

' 15. For a father afflicted with nntimely mourning,
' when he hath made an image of his child soon taken
' away, now honoured him as a god, which was then

' Wisdom, ch. xiv, p. 1:?.

'1:

.■■'f
't

V'' ,

< i

■ * ■
I

352

THE nVISDOM OF SOLOMON.*

n
il

* a dead man, and delivered to those that were under

* him ceremonies and sacrifices.

* 16. Tims, in process of time, an ungodly custom

* grown strong was kept as a law, and graven images

* were worshipped by the commandments of kings :

' 17. Whom men could not honour in presence, be-

* cause they dwelt far off, they took the counterfeit of

* the visage from far, and made an express image of a

* king whom they honoured, to the end that by this their

* forwardness, they might flatter him that was absent as

* if he were present.

' 18. Also the singular diligence of the artificer did
' help to set forward the ignorant to more superstition.

' 19. For he, peradventure willing to please one in
' authority, forced all his skill to make the resemblance
' of the best fashion.

' 20. And so the multitude, allured by the grace of
' the work, took him now for a god, which a little before
' was but honoured as a man.'

The idol is by no means regarded as a mere emblem.
In India,^ when the offerings of the people have been
less profuse than usual, the Brahmans sometimes 'put
' the idols in irons, chaming their hands and feet.
' They exhibit them to the people in this humiliating
' state, into which they tell them they have been
' brought by rigorous creditors, from whom their gods
' had been obliged, in times of trouble, to borrow money

* to supply their wants. They declare that the in-
' exorable creditors refuse to set the god at liberty,
' until the whole sum, with interest, shall have been
' paid. The people come forward, alarmed at the sight

* Dubois, The People of India, p. 407.

THE IDOL NOT REGARDED AS A MERE EMBLEM. 353

'u::.

of
tore

'eet.

* of their divinity in irons ; and thinking it the most
' meritorious of all good works to contribute to his
' deliverance, they raise the sum required by the
' Brahmans for that purpose.'

' A statue of Hercules ^ was worshipped at Tyre, not
' as a representative of the Deity but as the Deity him-
' self ; and accordingly when Tyre was besieged by
' xVlexandcr, the Deity was fast bound in chains, to
' prevent him from deserting to the enemy.'

It is hard for us to appreciate the difficulty which an
undeveloped mind finds in raising itself to any elevated
conception. Thus Campbell mentions that a High-
lander, wishing to describe a castle of the utmost pos-
sible magnificence, ended with this climax : ' That was
' the beautiful castle ! There was not a shadow of a
' thiug that was for the use of a castle that was not
' in it, even to a herd for the geese.' As, however,
civilisation progresses, and the chiefs, becoming more
despotic, exact more and more respect, the people are
introduced to conceptions of power and magnificence
higher than any which they had previously entertained.

Hence, though the worship of ancestors occurs
among races in the stage of Totemism, it long survives,
and may be regarded as characterising Idolatry ; which
is really a higher religion and generally indicates a
more advanced mental condition than the worship of
animals or of the heavenly bodies. At first sight the
reverse would appear to be the case : most would re-
gard the sun as a far grander deity than any in human
form. As a matter of fiict, however, this is not so, and
worship is generally, though not invariably, associated

' Jlistory of Man, vol. iv. p. ^\(>.
A A

■A-

354 THE IDOL NOT IIEGAIWED AH A MERE EMBLEM.

I I!

with a lower idea of the Deity than is the case with
Idolatry.

Indeed, the very circumstances which to our minds
ahnost render the sun worthy of deification are pre-
cisely those which made sun-worship comparatively a
rare form of religion amongst the lower races of savages.

Again, in the lowest religions, man does not form to
himself any definite conception of Deity. If we enquire
in what sense a savage regards a tree or a serpent as a
deity, we are putting to ourselves a question which the
savage does not think of asking. But when religion
ac(|uired a more intellectual character — when it in-
cluded faith as well as feeling, belief as well as mystery
— man first conceived the Deity as a being like himself
in form, character, and attributes, only wiser and more
powerful. This is one reason why the deities in this
stage are anthropomorphous.

Another is the fact that the gradually increasing
power of chiefs and kings has familiarised the mind
with the existence of a power greater than any which
has been previously conceived. Thus, in Western Africa,
the slave trade having added considerably to the Vv ealth
and consequently to the power of the chiefs or kings,
they maintained much state, and insisted upon bemg
treated with servile homage. No man was allowed to
eat with them, or to approach them excepting on his
knees with an appearance of fear, which no doubt was
in many cases sufficiently well-founded.

These marks of respect so much resembled adora-
tion, that ' the individuals ^ of the lower classes are

^ Proyart's History of Loaii}j[o,
I'inkerton, vol. xvi. p. 577. See also
Bosmaii, lov. cit. pj). 488, 191. Ast-

ley's ( .'olloction of Voyage is, vol. iii.
])p. 70, 2-2:i, 2'2ii.

WOUSUIP OF MEX.

355

* persuaded that his (tlic kmg's) *iower is not confined
' to the earth.'

Battel mentions that the kingof Loango ' is honoured
' among them as though he were a god.' ^ He is so holy
that no one is allowed to see him eat or drink. The
tyrants of Natal, says Casalis, 'exacted almost divine
' homage.' ^

In Peru the Ynca Uiraccocha was adored as a god
even during his life, ' though he wished to teach the
' Indians not to worship him.' ^

In Madagascar, also, the reigning sovereign was re-
garded almost as a god.*

In New Zealand, says Hale,^ ' the great warrior
' chief, Hongi, claimed for himself the title of a god,
' and was so called by his followers. At the Society
' Islands, Tamatoa, the last heathen king of Kaitea, was
' worshipped as a divinity. At the Marquesas there are,
' on every island, several men who are termed atua, or
' gods, who receive the same adoration, and are believed
' to possess the same powers, as other deities.

• • • • • •

' At Depeyster's group, the westernmost cluster of
' Polynesia, we were visited by a chief, who announced
' himself as tlie atua or god of the islands, and was
' acknowledged as such by tlie other natives.'

The king and queen of Tahiti were regarded as so
sacred that nothing once used by them, not even the
sounds forming their names, could be used for any
ordinary purpose.*' The language of the court was

and its

' riiikertuirs Travels, vol. x\i
- Th.' Biisiitcs, p. 210.

' Garcilaiiso de la Voga, vul. ii.

V. 07.

■* Siljit't', .Madajrascar
Pt'ople, p. .'{lo.

* U. S. Expl. Exped. p. 21.

'' I'llis' Polynesian Hesearcbcs,
vol. ii. ]>p. 34^, mo.

r : . •

•i

'Hill f

111

■ ■ ,"f lit'

^'n

V A

35G

WOliSmt OF CHIEFS.

characterised by the most ridiculous adulation. The
king's ' houses were called the aarai, the clouds of
' heaven ; anuanua, the rainbow, was the name of the
' canoe in which he voyaged ; his voice was called
' thunder ; the glare of the torches in his dwellmg was
' denominated lightning ; and when the people saw
' them in the evening, as they passed near his abode,
' instead of saying the torches were burning in the
' palace, they would observe that the lightning was
' flashing in the clouds of heaven.'

Man- worship would not, uideed, be long confined to
the dead. In many cases it extends to the living also.
Indeed, the savage who worships an animal or a tree,
woidd see no absurdity in worshipping a man. His
chief is, in his eyes, almost as powerful as, if not more
so than his deity. Yet man-worship does not prevail in
altogether uncivilised communities, because the chiefs,
associating constantly with their followers, lack that
mystery which religion requires, and which nocturnal
animals so eminently possess. As, however, civilisation
progresses, and the chiefs separate themselves more and
more from their subjects, this ceases to be the case, and
man- worship becomes an unportant element of religion.

The worship of a great chief seems quite as natural
to man as that of an idol. ' Why,' said a Mongol ^ to
Friar Ascelin, ' since you Christians make no scruple to
' adore sticks and stones, why do you refuse to do the
' same honour to Bayoth Xoy, whom the Khan hath
' ordered to be adored in the same manner as he is
' Inmself ? '

' Tuikilakila,^ the chief of Somosomo, ottered Mr.

* Astley, vol. iv. p. 651.

Erskine's Webtern Pacific, p. 246.

;i!' a i

♦■ *4i

WOJiSmr OF TTiAVEllEnS.

3r.7

' Hunt a preferment of the same sort. *' If you die

* " first," said he, " I shall make you my god." In fact,
' there appears to be no certain line of demarcation
' between departed spirits and gods, nor between gods

* and living men, for many of the priests and old chiefs
' are considered as sacred persons, and not a few of

* them will also claim to themselves the right of divinity.

* " I am a god," Tuikilakila would sometimes say ; and
' he believed it too. They were not merely the words of
' his lips ; he believed he was something above a mere

* man.'

This worship is, however, almost always accom-
panied by a belief in higher beings. We have already
seen that the New Zealanders and some other nations
have almost entirely abandoned the worship of animals,
&c., without as yet realising the higher stage of Idolatry,
owing probably in great measure to their political con-
dition. In other cases where Shamanism has not so
effectually replaced Totemism, the establishment of
monarchical government with its usual pomp and cere-
monial led to a much more organised worship of the old
gods. Of this the ser|'>ent- worship in Western Africa,
and the sun-worship in Peru, are striking examples.

I do not therefore wonder that white men should
have been so often taken for deities. This was the case
with Captain Cook in the Pacific, with Lander in
Western Africa,^ and, as already mentioned, ]Mrs. Thom-
son was regarded by the Nortli Australians as a spirit,
though she lived with them for some years. In the
Voyage of Sir Francis Drake ^ it is mentioned that some

' See attfe, p. 267. Southern Indians, p. 390. Stevens,

' Jones, Antiquities of the Flint ('hips, pp. 31M, .'UO.

!, ' "I

> .■

.:*l

i ■■>

■y,.-i\

, . %

•^u'-;ii

- 'Si]

3:.8

WORSHIP OF TRAVELLERS.

of the North American ludiiuis brou<^ht ' feathers and
'bags of To')nh for presents, or rather indeed for sacri-
* fices, upon this persuasion that we were gods.'

Mr. Hale tells us that the natives of Oatufu and
other Islands thought that these ' came from above, in
' the sky, and were divinities.' ^

It seems at first sight hard to understand how men
can Ix; regarded as immortal. Yet even this belief has
been entertained in various countries.

Merolla tells us^ that in his time the wizards of
Congo were called Scinghili, that is to say Gods of the
Eartli. The head of them is styled, ' Ganga Chitorno,
being reputed God of all the Earth.' ' He further
asserts that his body is not capable of suffering a
natural death ; and, therefore, to confirm his adorers in
that opinion, whenever he finds his end approaching,
either throuj]jh afje or disease, he calls for such a one of
his disciples as he designs to succeed him, and pro-
tends to connnunicate to him his great powers : and
afterwards in public (where this tragedy is always
acted) he commands him to tie a halter about his neck
and to strangle himself therewith, or else to take a
club and knock him down dead. This command being
once pronounced, is soon executed, and the wizard
thereby sent a martyr to the devil. The reason that
this is done in public is to make known the successor
ordained by the last breath of the predecessor, and to
show that it has the same power of producing rain,
and the like. If this office were not thus continually

' U. S. Kxpl. Exp. pp. 15.'], 150. '-' rinkorton, vol. xvi. p. L>20, I'f

See also Gerland, Antbr. der Niitur- soq,
volki-r, vol. vi. p. CG7.

wonsmr of ppTNCirLES.

',m

* filled, the inhabitants say that the earth would soon

* become barren, and mankind consequently perish. In
' my time, one of these magicians was cast into the sea,
' another into a river, a mother and her son put to
' death, and many others banished by our order, as has
'been said.'

So also the Great Lama of Thibet is regarded as im-
mortal ; though his spirit occasionally passes from one
earthly tenement to another.

These, then, are the lowest intellectual stages
through which religion has passed. It is no part of my
plan to describe the various religious beliefs of the
higher races. I have, however, stopped short sooner
perhaps than I should otherwise have done, because the
worship of personified principles, such as Fear, Love,
Hope, &c., could not have been treated apart from that
of the Phallus or Lingam with which it was so inti-
mately associated in Greece, India, Mexico, and else-
where ; and which, though at first modest and pure, as
all religions are in their origin, led to such abominable
practices that it is one of the most painful chapters in
human histoi'v.

I will now, therefore, pass on to some points inti-
mately connected with religion, but which could not be
conveniently treated in the earlier part of this work.

There is no difiiculty in understanding that when
once the idea of Spiritual Beings had become habitual
— when once man had come to regard them as exer-
cising an important influence, whether for good or evil
— he would endeavour to secure their assistance and
support. J^ofore a war he would try to propitiate them
by promising a share of the spoil after victory ; and fear,

■'It r

I 4^

lit * '
. • *■

■ 'if ■ ■ '

■;*i

•1

■ . If ■'

300

SACRIFICES.

even if no higher motive, would ensure tlie pcrfornianco
of his promise.

We, no doubt, regard, and justly regard, sacrifices
as unnecessary. * I will take no bullock,' says David,^

* out of thine house, nor he goat out of thy folds.' This
sentiment, however was far in advance of its time, and
even Solomon felt that sacrifices, in the then condition
of the Jews, were necessary. They form, indeed, a stage
through which, in any natural process of development,
religion must pass. At first it is su])posed that the
Spirits actually eat the food oflftred to them. S<jon,
however, it would be observed that animals sacrificed
did not disappear ; and the natural explanation would
be that the Spirit ate the spiritufd part of the victim,
leaving the grosser portion to his devout worshipper.
Thus the Limboos, near Darjeeling, eat their sacrifices,
dedicating, as they forcibly express it, ' the life-breath
' to the gods, the flesh to ourselves.' ^

So also, as Sir G. Grey tells us, the New Zealand
fairies, when Te Kanawa gave them his jewels, carried
off the shadow s only, not caring for the earthly sub-
stance.^ In Guinea, according to Bosman, ' the idol

* hath oidy the blood, because they like the flesh very

* well themselves.' * In other cases the idols were
smeared with the blood, while the devotees feasted on
the flesh. The Ostyaks, when they kill an animal, rub
some of the blood on the mouths of their idols. Even
this seems at length to be replaced in some cases, as Mr.
Tylor has suggested, by red paint. Thus, the sacred

» Psalm 1.

« Campbell, in Trans. Ethn. Sop.
N.S. vol. vii. p. IC;}.

* Polvuesian Mythology, p. 2'M,

* Bosman. Piiikerton's Voyagt^s,
vol. xvi. p. 531. A.sllt'y's Collection
of Voyages, vol. ii. p. 07.

is
ml

SACTilFWES EATi:\.

3i;i

'As

stonos in Tiidiji, aw Colonel Forbes Leslie has sliown, nrc
frequently ornamented with red.* So also in Conf:^o it
is customary to daub the fetiches with red every new
moon.

Of the j^reat offerings of food amon^^ the Feejeeans,
says Williams, 2 ' native belief a|)]>ortions merely the
' soul thereof to the gods, who are described as being
' enormous eaters ; the substance is consumed by the

* worshippers.'

In Madagascar ' in almost all cases the worshippers

* seem to have feasted on the flesh.'*'

Gradually, indeed, it comes to be a necessary ]H>r-
tion of the ceremony that the victim should be eaten
by those present. Thus, in India,^ when the sacrifice
' is over, the priest comes out, and distributes part t)f
' the articles which have been offered to the idols.
' This is received as holy, and is eaten immediately.'

Ellis ^ mentions an indication of this in Tahiti, when
liuman sacrifices prevailed, but cannibalism was aban-
doned. The priest handed a portion of the victim to
the kinjr, ' who raised it to his mouth as if desirous to
' eat it,' but then handed it to an attendant. Anionic
the Kedskins,'' at the feast held when the huntini^
season begins, the victim ' must be all eaten and nothin^:
' left.' It is remarkable that amou<]^ the Al^i^onkins
another rule at the same feast is that not a bone of the
victim must be broken."

' See, for instance, Early Kaces
of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 404.

^ Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i. p.
231. See also p. 22.i.

' Sibree, Madagascar and its
People, p. ;}80.

■• Dubois, Tlie Pfople of India,

p. 401.

^ Polynesian Rcst^arches, vol. ii.
p. 214.

® Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes, vol.
iii. p. ()1. Tanner's Narrative, p. il-^T.

'' Tanner's Na rative, p. lt>').

•.y. •

:"1
■if

3r»2 (10NFUST0N OF THE SAORTFTCE AXU THE DEITY.

In inftiiy ruses a curious ronfiision arises lu'twecn
the victim and the deity, and the former is worslnpped
before it is sacrificed and eaten. Thus in ancient
K^'ypt, Apis, the victim, was also regarded as the God,'
and Ipliigenia Avas supposed by some to be the same as
Artt^mis.'-^ Tlie same explanation of the facts has been
subsequently adoj)ted by H. Spencer.^

In Mexico* at a certain period of the year the j)ri('st
of QiietznU'oatl madi; nn image of the Deity, of meal
mixed witii infants' blood, and then, after many im-
pressive ceremonies, killed the image by sliooting it with
an arrow and tore out the heart, which was eaten by
the king while the rest of the body was distributed
among the people, every one of whom was most anxious
to procure a piece to eat, however small.

The great yearly sacrifice in honour of Tezcatlipoca
was also very rer.UiAable. Some beautiful youth,
usually a war captive, was chosen as the victim. For
a whole year he was treated and worshipped as a god.
When he went out he was attended by a numerous
train of pnges, and the crowd as he passed prostrated
themselves before him, and did him homage as the iiu-
personation of the good Deity. Everything he could
wish w\as provided for him, and at the commencement
of the last month four beautiful girls were allotted to
him as wives. Finally when the fatal day arrived, he
was placed at the head of a solemn procession, taken to
the temple, and after being sacrificed with much cere-

' Cox's Manual of Mytliolojry, p. 300.

p. 21.?, ' ' "See Muller, Ges. d. Araev. Urr.

2 7,WV/. p. 15S. p. 005. Wiittke,rT03. dor Meiisch,

^ Tiie Principles of Sociolofry, vol. i. p. .'>]4.

wnnsmr of the sACT^TFrcF.

a«;:{

mony and every tokm of respect, lie was eaten hy the
priests and cliiefs.'

A«^ain, amon^ the Khonds - of Centrjd India liuman
sacrifices prevailed until qiiiti^ lately. ' A stout stake
' is driven into the soil, and to it the victim is fastened,
'seated, and anointed with j^hec, oil, and turnieric,
' decorate<l with flowers, and n-ors/u'piKrf during the day
* by the assemhly. At ni«4htfall the licentious revelry
'is resumed, and on the third mornin;^' the victim <j:ets
' sonic milk to drink, when the presiding priest implores
' the f^oddoss to shower her ])lessin;4's on the p('o])le.

'After the mock ceremony, nevertheless, the victim
' is taken to the «:rove where the sacrifice is to he
'carried out ; and, to prevent resistance, the hones of
' the arms and le«(s are broken, or the victim (lru«r,i<ed
'with opium or datura, when the janni wounds his
' victim with his axe. This act is followed up by the
' crowd ; a number now press forward to obtain a piece
' of his flesh, and in a moment he is stripped to the
' bones.'

An ahnost identical custom prevails among tlie
Marimos, a tribe of South Africa much resembling the
Bechuanas and the Pawnees. We find amongst them,
' says Arbousset, the practice of human sacrifices on
' the occasion of a ceremony Avhich they cjill rncscJctso (ki
' mabele, or the boilhi;/ of the corn. They generally select for
' this sacrifice a young man, stout, but of st>Tall stature.
' They secure him, it may be by violence, or it may be
' by intoxicating him with jfoala. They then lead him

-< 'I

'i'M

mrX

* Miiller, he. cif. p. 01 7. Proscott, * Dr. Shortt, Trans. lOtlin. Sno.

loc. cit, \o]. \. Y), T), liites and Law." N.S. vol. vi. p. 273. Camplx-ll,
of the Inca.9, p. 28. Wild Tri]>'fj of Khondistan, p. 112.

■' r

:I04

EATJxn THE sAcitiFirr:.

* into tlic fields, nnd sacrifico him in tlio midst of tlic

* fields, areordinjif to their own expression, for sciil,

* His blood, after ]iavinj( been eoaj^nlated by the rays
*of the sun, is burne<l nlon;]^ with the frontal bone, the
' flesh attached to it, and the brain. The ashes are

* then seattcrod over the lands to fertilise them, and the
' remainder of the body is eaten.' '

Schoolcraft '^ mentions a very similar sacrifice to the

* Spirit of Corn ' amon^^ the Pawnees. The victim was
' first tortured by bein;;^ suspended over a fire. * At a

* <(iven si;(nal a hundred arrows were let fiy, and her whole

* body was pierced. These were inuuediate^^' withdrawn.
' and her flesh cut from her bones in small pieces, which
' were put into baskets, and carried into the cornfield,

* where the j^rain was being planted, and the blood

* squeezed out on each hill.

In some parts of Africa ' eatinfi^ the fetisli ' is a
solemn ceremony, by which women swear fidelity to
their husbands, men to their friends. On a marriage in
Issini, the parties ' eat the fetish together, in token of
' frienilship, and as an assurance of the woman's fidelity

* to her husband.' ® In taking an oath also, the same
ceremony is observed. To know, says Loyer, ' the

* truth from any negro, you need only mix something

* in a little water, and steeping a bit of bread, bid him
' eat or drink that fetish as a sign of the truth. If the
' thing be so he will do it freely ; but if otherwise, lie
' will not touch it, believing he should die on the spot
' if he swore falsely.'

The sacrifices were, as a general rule, not eaten by

' Tour to the N.E. of tlie Cape p. 014.
of Good llopt', p. 58. ' Loypr, in Astley's Cnlleotiuii

'^ Srhonlpratt's PpTsoimOfomnivfa, of Voynpes, vol. ii. pp. 4.'>f>, 441.

I'JATIMi Till': SACUIFICK.

•Mi

nil indiscriminately. In lurjet' they were confined to
the old men and priests ; wonien and young men being
excluded from any Hhare.

In many cascn, the ])rie8t8 «^radually established a
claim to the whole ; a result which could not fail to act
as u considerable stimulus to the practice of sacrifice.
It also affected the character of the W(jrship. Thus, as
liosman tells us, the priests encouraged offerings to the
Serpent rather than to the Sea, because, in the latter
ease, as he expresses it, there happens no rcmahider to
' be left for them.*

As already mentioned, the feeling which has led to
the sacrifice of animals would naturally culminate hi
that of men. So natural, indeed, does the idea of
human sacrifice ap[)ear to the human mind in this stage,
that wc meet with it in various nations all over the
world ; and it is unjust to regard it, with Prescott,^ as
evidence of fiendish passions : on the contrary, it indi-
cates deep and earnest religious feeling, iierverted by an
erroneous conception of the Divine character.

Human sacrifices occurred in Guinea,- and Burton ^
feaw ' at Benin city a young woman lashed to a scalfokl-
' ing upon the sununit of a tall blasted tree, and being
' devoured by the turkey-buzzards. The people de-
' clared it to be a " fetish " or charm for brinoin*'" rain.'
I have already mentioned the existence of liunum
sacrifice among the Marimos of South Africa.

Captain Cook describes human sacrifices as prevalent
among the islanders of the Pacific,* and especially in

' History of Mexico, vol. i. p. G8.
'^ Astley's CoUectiou of Voyuges,
vol. iii. p. 113.

^ Ahljuokut'i, vol. i. i:>.
*• Cook, Viiyago to tUe I'acilic,
vol. ii. p. 41.

'M6

HUMAN SACJilFICE.

the Sandwich gi'oup.^ He particularly describes ^ the
case of a sacrifice offered by Towlia, chief of the district
of Tettaha, in Tahiti, to propitiate the Deity on the
occasion of an expedition against Einieo (PI. IV.) ; and
mentions that, during the ceremonv, ' a kin<?fisher
' making a noise in the trees, Otoo (the king) turned
' to me, saying, " That is the Eatooa," i.e. Deity.' War
captives were frequently sacrificed in Brazil.

In Madagascar human sacrifices seem to have pre-
vailed in the province of Vangaidrano, but not elsewhere.''

Various nations in India, besides the Khonds, who
have been already mentioned, used to offer up human
sacrifices on extraordinary occasions ; but so recently
as 1865-G6 such sacrifices were resorted to in hopes of
averting the famine ; ^ and even now in some places,
thougli the actual sacrifice is no longer permitted, they
make human figure - of flour, paste, or clay, and then
cut off the heads in honour of their gods ;^ just as the
Komans used to throw dolls into the Tiber as a substi-
tute for human sacrifices.

Many cases of human sacrifice are mentioned in
ancient history. The Carthaginians, after their defeat
of Agathocles, burnt some of their captives as a sacrifice ;
the Assyrians offered human sacrifices to the god Nergal.

Although resorted to on various critical occasions
by the Greeks, human sacrifice appears to have been
foreign to the mythology and opposed to the spirit of
that people. Human sacrifices are connected with a
more earnest and melanclioly theology. In Ivoman

' Loc. cit. vol. iii. p. 161.
'■* Lm'. cit, vol. ii. p. 30.
' Sibreo, "Madaga^scar and ils
People, p. 300.

■' Hunter, Annals of Rural Ben-
gal, 1808, p. 128.

^ Dubois, loc. cit. p. 400.

es "^ the
district
on the
) ; and
igfisher
turned
' War

Lvc pre-
iwhere.^
Is, who

human
'ccently
lopes of

places,
id, they
d then
t as the

substi-

ned in
defeat

critice ;

N^ergal.

casions
e been
)irit of

^vith a
IJomnn

uial Beii-
).

u
<

•! pT^ «t

^;(

i P" > V i

'^■■¥i

r ^

bis

sol

EvI

pel

bee

tbt

coi

sac

yei

bis

se\

roi

tbt

bai

tin
M(
nu
pa

EUROPE.

307

history they occur far more frequently, and even down
to a late date. In the year 46 B.C. Caisar sacrificed two
soldiers on the altar in the Campus Martins.^ Augustus
is said to have sacrificed a maiden named Gre<'oria.''*
Even Trajan, when Antioch was rebuilt, sacrificed
Calliope, and placed her statue in the theatre.^ Under
Commodus, and later emperors, human sacrifices ap-
pear to have been more common ; and a gladiator
appears to have been sacrificed to Jupiter Latialis even
in the time of Constantine.* Yet these awful rites had
been expressly forbidden B.C. 95 : and Pliny asserts
that in his tune they were never openly solemnised.^

In Northern Europe human sacrifices were not un-
common. The Yarl of the Orkneys is recorded to have
sacrificed the son of the King of Norway to Odin in the
year 893.^ In 993, Ilakon Yarl sacrificed his own son
to the gods. Donald, King of Sweden, was burnt by
his people as a sacrifice to Odin, in consequence of a
severe famine.' At Upsala was a celebrated temple,
round which an eye-witness assured Adam of Bremen
that he had seen the corpses of seventy-two victims
hanging up at one time.®

In Russia, as in Scandinavia, human sacrifices con-
tinued down to the introduction of Christianity. In
Mexico and Peru they seem to have been peculiarly
numerous. Midler ^ has suggested that this may have
partly arisen from the fact that these nations were not

■i.

» •'.-J
i.

;'^-

.|!

' Dio, II. R. xliii. 24.

- Malalas, Chron. p. 221.

•■' Ibid. p. 275.

' Porphyry, De Abstin. ii. 50.

* Nat. His. XXX. 1, 12.

'' fcsnorre, Ileimsluiiigla, vol. ii.

p. 31. Torfajus, His. Rer. Norvegi-
carum, vol. ii. p. 52.

' Siiorre, vol. i. p. 5*!.

* Adam of JJro.iioii, vol. iv. ]i. 27.

'■* fioschiclile tier AnKricaniiclioii
UrrfIigiont.n, p. 23.

308

AMERICA. THE JEWS.

softened by the possession of domestic animals. Various
estimates liave been made of the number of human
victims annually sacrificed in the Mexican temples.
iMUller thinks 2,500 is a moderate estimate ; and in
one year it appears to have exceeded 100,000.

Among the Jews we find a system of animal sacri-
fices on a great scale, and symbols of human sacrifices,
which can, I think, only be understood on the hypo-
thesis that the latter were once usual. The case of
Jephtha's daughter is generally looked upon as quite
exceptional,^ but the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth
verses of the twenty- seventh chapter of I^eviticus ap-
pear to indicate that human sacrifices were at one time
habitual among the Jews.

I do not here refer to the human sacrifices at burials,
because these are not, strictly speaking, of a religious
character, but intended to supply the deceased with
wives or slaves in the land of spirits.

The lower savages have no Temples or sacred build -
inji^s. Throughout the New World there was no such
thmg as a temple, excepting among the semi-civilised
races of Central America and Peru.

The Stiens of Cambodia ' have neither priest nor
' temples.' ^ We should seek in vam, says Casalis,^
' from the extremity of the southern promontory of
' Africa to the country far beyond the banks of the
' Zambesi, for anything like the pagodas of India, the
' maraes of Polynesir, or the fetish huts of Nigritia.'
The people of Madagascar, as we are informed by

' Sec Kaliscb, Cnmmentary on - Mouliot's Travels in the Coiitral

the Old Testainuiit; i^ev. pt. i. p. Parts of ludo-China, vol. i. p. 250.
40n. 3 'i'i,g Baautos, p. 237.

Various
human

temples,
and in

al sacri-
icrifices,
e liypo-
case of
as quite
:y-ninth
cus ap-
>ne time

burials,
eligious
id with

1 build-
no such
ivilised

ist nor
iasalis,^
;ory of
of the
lia, the
igi'itia.'
Led by

le Central
p. 2o0.

TEMPLES.

369

Prury,^ who resided fifteen years a!Hong them, although
they have settled abodes, keep large herds of cattle, and are
diligent agi'iculturists, ' have no temples, no tabernacles
' or groves for the public performance of their divine
' worship : neither have they solemn fasts, or festivals,
' or set days or times ; nor priests to do it for them.*

The Toorkmans, sayn Burnes,^ ' are without
' mosques.' The Micronesians, according to Hale,^
'have neither temples, images, nor sacrifices.' The
Khasias * ' have no temples.' The same is the case
with the Ostyaks and other savage races of Siberia."^

Professor Nilsson was, I believe, the first to pomt
out that certain races buried the dead in their houses,
and that the chambered tumuli of Northern Europe are
probably copies of the dwellings then used ; sometimes
l)erhaps the actual dwellings themselves. We know
that as the power of chiefs increased, their tombs became
larger and more magnificent ; and IMr. Fergusson has
well shown how, in India, the tumulus has developed
into the temple.

In some cases, as, for instance, in India, it is far
from easy to distinguish between a group of stone gods
and a sacred fane. In fact, we may be sure that the
very same stones are by some sui)posed to be actual
deities, while others more advanced regard them as
sacred only because devoted to religious pur})oses. Some
of the ruder Ilindostan tribes actually worship) upriglit
stones ; but Colonel Forbes Leslie regards the sacred

' Adventureb of Robert Drury, * Godwin-Austen, Jour, of the

p. 10. ' Anthr. Inst. 1h71, p. 130.

- Travels into Bukhara, vol. ii. * Miiller, Des. de toutes lea Nat.

]>. iJOO. de lEmp. lluase, pt. ii. p. 105,

•'' U.S. Kxplor. l]xpe<l. pp. 77, 84. pt. iii. p. 141.

B B

t* '''

: t

I M

\i '

'■^■ i\

I ! ' ■

h¥

370

rfilESTS.

Rtones represented in PI. Til. as a place of worsliip,
rather than as actual deities ; and this is at any rate
the case with another group similarly painted, which
he observed near Andlee, also in the Dekhan, and
which is pecidiarly interesting from its resemblance to
those stone circles of our own country of which Stone-
henge is (see Frontispiece) the grandest representative.
Fig. 18, p. 254, represents ^ a religious dance as prac-
tised by the Redskins of Virginia. Here, also, as already
mentioned, we see a sacred circle of stones, differing
from those of our own country, and of India, only in
having a human head rudely carved on each stone.

The lower races of men have no Priests properly so
called. Many passages, indeed, may be quoted which ,
at first sight, appear to negative this assertion. If,
however, we examine more closely the true functions
of these so-called ' priests,' we shall easily satisfy our-
selves that the term is a misnomer, and that wizards
only are intended. Without temples and sacrifices
there cannot be priests.

According to Drury, there were no priests in Mada-
gascar ; more recently, however, the guardians of the
idols had usurped priestly functions and even claimed
for themselves immunities from legal consequences?
akin to the custom of privilege of clergy, which sur-
vived until so recently among ourselves.''^

Even the New Zealanders ^ had ' no regular priest-
' hood.' Mr. Gladstone * observes that the priest was
not, ' as such, a significant personage in Greece at any

' Mceurs dos Saiiv. Atn^r. vol. People, p. 400.
ii. p. K{fi. 3Yalo, p. 140.

-' Sibree, 31aJaprascar and it.« * Juventus Mundi, p. Itjl.

i. ■

•I'

■ /

^"1- ... .fi^^

•I

(

<
(

Inl

(

ill
1)(
(li

'i
pi
ce
'I

( (I

in,

'o
'1

MYSTl'JRY MUX.

371

* period, nor had tlio priest of any one place or deity, so
' far as we know, any organic connection with the priest

* of any other ; so that if there were priests, yet there
' was not a priestliood.'

Miiller again expresses himself in very similar
language. ' That there ever was in Greece,' he says,
' a priesthood, strictly speaking, in contradistinction to
' a laity, is a point which, in my opinion, cannot at all
' Ix; established.' ^

The progress seems to be that at iirst all men were,
in this respect at least, alike. After a while some
became more celebrated tlian others as sorcerers and
diviners. These persons gradually associated them-
selves into a special class or caste, and assumed also
the functions of doctors and priests. These qualities
by degrees assumed more and more importance. It is
therefore, in some cases, difficult to say whether the
' medicine men,' or ' mystery men,' are doctors or
priests. For instance, among the Kaffirs there are
certain persons known as ' Isanusi,' ' Intonga,' or,
' Igqira,' which tenns, says ^Ir. Warner,*'' ' I choose to
' translate by the word "priest," in preference to that of
' " doctor," the term generally employed by Europeans
' to designate this class of persons.'

An important part of their duty consists in regulat-
ing the weather. ' This,' says Mr. Warner,*^ ' is another
'of the heathenish vanities in which the benighted
' Kaffirs put their trust. They firmly believe that some
' of their priests have the power to cause it to rain.'

I have already pointed out (caife, p. 2.'J<S) the great

¥•» '

•V;

-A^r.^

' Scientific System of Mytliolonry,
p. 188.

H H 2

'^ Kaffir Laws and (.'a.stoms,p. PO.
^ JhuL-p. 104.

rW-.:

■iff-

" 'i

372 THE CONDITION OV THE SOUL AFTER DEATU.

(lifFeronce between tlie Ixjlief in ghosts and in the im-
mortality of the soul. Some races entirely disbelieve
in the survival of the soul after the death of the bofly,
and even tliose which are more advanced, often differ
from us very nuich in their views ; in fact the belief in
a universal, independent, and endless existence is con-
fined to the very highest races of men.^ The New
Zealanders believe that a man who is eaten as well as
killed, is thus destroyed both soul and body. Even,
however, those who have proper interment are far from
secure of reaching the happy regions in the land of
spirits. The road to these is long and dangerous, and
numy a soul perishes by the way.

In the Tonga Islands the chiefs are regarded as im-
mortal, the Vooas or common people as mortal ; with
reference to the intermediate class, or Mooas, there is a
difference of opinion.

A friend of Mr. Lang's ^ ' tried long and patiently to

* make a very intelligent docile Australian black under-

* stand his existence without a body, but the black
' never could keep his countenance, and generally made
' an excuse to get away. One day the teacher watched

* and found that he went to have a hearty fit of
' laughter at the absurdity of the idea of a man living
' and going about without arms, legs, or mouth to eat ;
' for a lono; time he could not believe that the ""entle-
' man was serious, and when he did realise it, the more

* serious the teacher was, the more ludicrous the whole
' affair appeared to the black.'

The resurrection of t'

body as pr^

> Taylor,
Inhabitants,

New Zealand and its
). 101.

31.

The Aborigines of Australia,

SURVIVAL OF THE SOUL.

373

miasionnries,* aj)peare(l to the Tahitiiins * astoundinjif '
and ' incredible ; ' and * as tlie Hubject was more fre-
' quently brought under their notice in i)u])lic discourse
*or in reading the Scriptures, and their minds were

* more attentively exercised upon it in connection with
' their ancestry, themselves, and their descendants, it
' appeared invested with more thun ordinary difficulty,
' bordering, to their ai)prehension, on impossibility.'

Although the Feejeeans believe that almost every-
thing has a spirit, few spirits are immortal : the road to
Albulu is long, and beset witli so many difnculties, that
after all few attain to immortality.' '^

We find a very similar belief also among the Es-
quimaux ^ and the Kaffirs.'*

As regards Central India, Colonel Dalton says,^ ' I
' do not think that the present generation of Kols have
' any notion of a heaven or hell that may not be traced
' to Brahminical or Christian teaching. The old idea
' is that the souls of the dead loecome " bhoots," spirits,
' but no thought of reward or punishment is connected

* with the change. When a Ho swears, the oath has
'no reference whatever to a future state. He prays
' that if he speak not the truth he may be afflicted in
'this world with the loss of all — health, wealth, wife,

* children : that he may sow without reaping, and

* finally may be devoured by a tiger ; ])ut he swears
' not by any happiness beyond the grave. He has in
' his primitive state no such hope ; and I believe that

' Ellis, Polynesian Researches,
vol. ii. p. 165.

' Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i.
p. 247. Seemann, Mis.sion to Viti,
p. 400.

'* Crantz's Greenland, p. 'jrAI,

quoted in 'j'ylor's Primitive ('ulture,
vol. ii. p. 20.

* (JiiUaway, Aniazul". Keligion,
p. .355.

' Trans. Ethu. 8oc. 18^', p. 38.

1 •

I
t

'•4:..

.•I

* K

( 'v:

874

]>EATn OF THI'J tSVfh'IT.

';/ ■ «i

' moHt Irnlian aborl'^^'ines, t]jou;^]i they may liavo howw.

* vafifue ideas of continiiouH existence, will be found
' equally devoid of original notions in rc^^ard to the
'judgment to come.'

In his ' Descriptive Ethnology of Hengal ' he makes
a similar statement with reference to the Chalikatas,
another of the hill tribes, declaring that they ' utterly

* rejected all notions of a future state. The spirits they
' propitiated were, they declared, mortal like them-
' selves.' ^ The liuihers,^ Oraons,'*^ and Juangs* also
held very similar views. Again, ' all encpiircrs on the
' subject appear to have arrived at the conclusion that
' the Santals have no belief in a future state.' *

Among the Micronesians, according to Hale," the
souls of those, ' only those, who are tattooed (being
' chiefly persons of free birth) can expect to reach the
' Kninahiki All others are intercepted on their way,
' and devoured by a monstrous giantess, called Buine.^
Some of the Guinea ^^groes considered that the soul of
the departed was subjected to an examination as to
his conduct during life, and if found wanting, 'his
*god plunges him into the river, where he is drowned,

* and buried in eternal oblivion.'^

Even when the spirit is supposed to survive the
body, the condition of souls after death is not at first
considered to difl^er materially from that during life.
Heaven is merely a distant i)art of earth. Thus the
' seats of happiness are represented by some Hindu
' writers to be vast mountains on the north of ' India.' ^

J Trans. Etlin. Soc. 1867, p. 21.
8 Des. Ethn. of I3engal, p. 13.3.
' loc. cit, p. 257.
* Loc. cit, p. 157.
» Loc. cit. p. 218.

« U. S. Expl. Exped. p. 99.
"^ Bosnian. Pinkerton's Voyages,
vol. xvi, p. 401.

" Dubois, luc, cit, p. 485.

TllI'J LOCAUTY OF HEAVEN.

375

Tlio HaitianH considert'd that tho paradise of the
dead was situated in the lovely weatern vuUeysj ot* thuir
island.*

Again, in Ton«^a the bouIs are supposed to go to
Bolotoo, a large island to the north-west, well stociced '^
with all kinds of useful and ornamental plants, 'always
' bearing the richest fruits and the most beautiful
' flowers, according to their res})ective natures ; that
' when these fruits or flowers are plucked, others imme-

* diately occupy their place . . . The island of Bolotoo
' is supposed to be so far off^ as to render it dangerous

* for their canoes to attemi)t going there ; and it is

* supposed, moreover, that even if they were to succeed
' in reaching so far, unless it happened to be the particular
' will of the gods, they would be sure to miss it.'

They believe, however, that on one occasion a canoe
actually reached Bolotoo. The crew landed, but when
they attempted to touch anything, ' they could no more
' lay hold of it than if it had been a shadow.' Conse-
quently liimger soon overtook them, and forced theui
to return, which they fortunately succeeded in doing.

A curious notion, already referred to, is the belief
that each man has several souls. It is common to
various parts of America,^ and exists in Madagascar as
well as among the Khonds of llindostan. It apparently
arises from the idea that each [)ulse is the seat of a
difl'erent life. It also derives an ap})earance of proba-
bility from the inconsistencies of behaviour to which

•< i\

•"I

^ Tylor's Primitive Culture, vol. Greenland. Miiller, Ges. der Am.

ii. p. 50, Urreligionen, p. 00; and amunjj tlio

* Mariner, /oc.cj'i. vol. ii. p. 108. Cliippewas. Schoolcraft, vol. vi.

3 Tertre's History of the ( 'aribby p. 001.
Islands, p. 288. It prevails also ia

■ «

U. '.

37C>

hELIEF IN A FUTURE LIFE.

savages are so prone. The Feejeeans also believed that
each man has two spirits.^ Among the ancient Greeks
and Romans there are some indications of the existence
of a similar belief.''^

The beliei in a future state, if less elevated than our
own, is singularly vivid among some barbarous races.
Thus we are told that among the Ancient Britons
money was habitually lent on what may strictly be
termed * postobits ' — promises to pay in another world,
and it is said that the same thing occurs even now in
"^ Japan.

'^ A striking instance of undoubting faith is mentioned
by Mr. Tylor. A Hindoo thought he had been unfairly
deprived of forty rupees, whereupon he cut off his own
mother's head, with her full consent, in order that her
spirit might haunt and harass the man who had taken
the money, and those concerned with him.*

The Feejeeans believe that ' as they die, such will be
' their condition in another world ; hence their desire to
' escape extreme infirmity.' * The way to Mbulu, as
already mentioned, is long and difficult ; many always
perish, and no diseased or infirm person could possibly
succeed in surmountinc^ all the dan":ers of the road.
Hence, as soon as a man feels the approach of old age,
lie notifies to his children that it is time for him to die.
If he neglects to do so, the children after a while take
the matter into their own hands. A family consulta-
tion is held, a day api)ointed, and the grave dug. The
aged person has his choice of being strangled or buried

241.

' Fiji and tlie Fijians, vol. i. p. 10.'J.

• Lalitau, vol. ii. p. 424.

^ I'rimitivo Culture, vol. ii.

183.

Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i. p.

F ;'i

rUTTIXG OLD PEOPLE TO DEATH.

>t 4

alive. Mr. Hunt givL's the following striking descrip-
tion of such a ceremony once witnessed hy him. A
young man came to him and invited him to attend his
mother's funeral, which was just going to take place.
Mr. Hunt accepted the invitation, and joined the pro-
cession, but, surprised to see no corpse, he made en-
quiries, when the young man ' pointed out his mother,
' who was walking along with them, as gay and lively
' as any of those present, and apparently as much
' pleased. Mr. Hunt expressed his surprise to the
' young man, and asked how he could deceive him so
' much by saying his mother was dead, when she was
■'alive and well. He said, in rei)ly, that the/ had made
' her death-foast, and were now going to bury her ;
' that she was old, that his brother and himself had
' thought she had lived long enougli, and it was time to
' bury her, to which she had willingly assented, and
' they were about it now. He had come to Mr. Hunt
' to ask his prayers, as tl.iey did those of the priest.

' He added, that it was from love for his mother
' that he had done so ; that in consecpience of the same
' love, they were now going to bury her, and that none
' but themselves could or ought to do such a sacred
'office! Mr. Hunt did all in his power to prevent so
' diabolical an act ; but the only rei)ly he received was
' that she was their mother, aad they were her cliildren,
' and they ought to i)ut her to death. On reaching th(i
' grave, the motlier sat down, when they all, including
' children, grandchildren, relations and friends, took an
' affectionate leave of her : a rop(^, made of twisted
' tapa, was then passed twice rountl her neck by her
' sons, wlio took hohl of it and strangled Jier ; aitei*

'fe

!in!

378

THE FUTURE STATE.

,(•

'which she was put into her grave, with the usual
' ceremonies.' ^

So general was this custom that in one town con-
taining several hundred inhabitants Captain Wilkes did
not see one man over forty years of age, all the old
people having been buried.

The same belief is found in other Pacific Islands, as,
for instance, in the Hervey Islands.''*

For the same reason the Australians in some cases
cut off the right thumb of a dead foe, believing that
being thus 'unable to throw the spear or to use the
' dowak efficiently, his spirit can do them very little
' injury.' ^ We find also a very similar belief among
some of the negroes.*

In Daliome the kinff sends constant messa<?es to
his deceased father, by messengers who are killed for
the purpose.^ The same firm belief which leads to this
reconciles the messengers to their fate. They are well
treated beforehand, and their death, being instantaneous,
is attended with little pain. Hence we are assured that
they are quite cheerful and contented, and scarcely
seem to look on their death as a misfortune.

The North American Indian, as Schoolcraft tells us,
has little dread of death. ' He does not fear to go to a
' land which, all his life long, he has heard abounds in
' rewards without punishments.''^ The JapanersC con)-
mit suicide for the most trifling causes ; and it is said
that in China, if a rich man is condemned to death, he

der Menscli.

' "NVilkes" Fxploriiifr Expedition,
condensed edition, p. 211.

^ Gill, Myths of the South Pa-
citic, p. 102.

3 Oldlield, Trans. Etbn. Soc.
N. S. vol. iii. p. 287.

* AVuttke, Ges.
vol. i. p. 107.

' Burton's Dabome, vol. ii.
p. 2o.

^ Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes, vol.
ii. p. O.S.

CREATION.

:i70

can pometiuies purchase a willing substitute at a very
small expense.

The lower races have no idea of Creation, and even
among those somewhat more advanced it is at first
very incomplete. Their deities are part of, not the
makers of, the world ; and even wlien the idea of
creation dawns upon the mind, it is not strictly a
creation, but merely the raising of land already existing
at the bottom of the original sea.

The Abipones had no theory on the subject ; when
questioned by Dobritzhoffer,^ ' My father,' replied Ye-
hoalay readily and frankly, 'our grandfathers, and
' great-grandfathers, were wont to contemplate the earth
' alone, solicitous only to see whether the plain afforded
' grass and water for their horses. They never troubled
' themselves about what went on in the heavens, and
' who wuh the creator and governor of the stars.'

Father Baegert,^ in his account of the Californian
Indians, says, ' I often asked thcin whetiier ihey li.id
' never put to themselves the question who might be
' the Creator and Preserver of the sun, moon, stars, and
' other objects of nature, but was always sent liome with
' a " vara," which means ' no " in their lun., ua"'e.'

The Chipewyans ^ thought that the world existed at
first in the form of a globe of water, out of which the
Great Spirit raised the land. The Lenni Lcnape * siiy
that Manitu at the bcf^innino; swam on the water, and
made the earth out of a grain of sand. He then made
a man and Avoman out of a tree. The Mingos and

t. ■
t

-Hy

' Loc. cit. vol. ii. p. 59.

2 Loc. cit. p. 3'JO.

^ DunnV Orogun, p. 102.

^ ^liiller, (.108. d. Amor. Uir.
1). 107.

380

CREATION.

Ottawwaws believe that a rat brought up a grain of
sand from the bottom of tlie water, and thus produced
the land. The Crees ^ had no ideas at all as to the
origin of the world.

Stuhr, who was, as Miiller says, a good obser^'er of
such matters, tells us that the Siberians had no idea of
a Creator. When Burchell suffi^ested the idea of crea-
tion to the Bachapin Kaffirs, they ' asserted that every-
' thing made itself, and that trees and herbage grew by

* 'heir own will.' '^ It also appears from Canon Calla-
way's researches that the Zulu Kaffirs have no notion
of creation. Casalis makes the same statement : all
the natives, he says, ' whom we questioned on the
' subject have assured us that it never entered their
' heads that the earth and sky might be the work oi an

* Invisible Being.' ^ The same is also the case with the
Hottentots.

The Australians, again, had no idea of creation.
According to Polynesian mythology, heaven and earth
existed from the beginning.* The latter, however, was
at first covered by water, until Mawe drew up New
Zealand by means of an enchanted fish-hook.* This
fish-hook was made from the jaw-bone of Muri-ranga-
whenna, and is now the cape forming the southern ex-
tremity of Hawk' j' Bay. The Tongans,^ Samoans,^
and Hervey Islanders ® have a very similar tale. Here
the islands were drawn up by Tangaloa, ' but, the line

' Franklin's Journey to tlie Polar
Sea, vol. i. p. 143.

* Loc. cit. vol. ii. p. 560.
^ The Basiitos, p. 238.
"• Polynesian Mythology,

Gill, MytlKs of the South Paoitio, p.

20. Shortland, luc. cit. p. 35.

^ Ibid. p. 45.

^ Mariner, loc. cit. vol. i. p. 284.

^ Hale, U. S. Expl. Exp. p. 25.

8 Gill, Mvths of the S. Pncitic,
73.

CREATION

381

New
This

>. 35.

' accidentally breaking, the act was incoinj)letc, and
' matters were left as they now are. They show a hole
' in the rock, about two feet in diameter, which quite
' perforates it, and in which Tangaloa's hook got fixed.
' It is moreover said that Tool tonga had, till within a
' few years, this very hook in his possession.'

As regards Tahiti, Williams ^ observes that tlic
* origin of the gods, and their priority of existence in
' comparison with the formation of the earth, being a
' matter of uncertainty even among the nati\ e })riests,
' involves the whole in the greatest obscurity.' Even
in Sanskrit there is no word for creation, nor does any
such idea appear in the Rigveda, in the Zendavesta, or
in Homer.

When the Capuchin missionary MeroUa '^^ asked the
Queen of Singa, in Western Africa, who made the
world, she, ' without the least hesitation, readily an-
' swered, " My ancestors." " Then," replied the Capu-
'chin, "does your Majesty enjoy the whole power of
'"your ancestors?" "Yes," answered she, "and
' "much more, for over and above what they had, I am
' " absolute mistress of the kingdom of Matamba ! " A
' remark which shows how little she realised the mean-
' ing of the term " Creation." ' The negroes in Guinea
thought that man was created by a great black spider.'*
The Bongos of Soudan 'have no conception of there
' being a Creator.' * Other negroes, however, have more
just ideas on the subject, probably derived from the
missionaries.

' Polynesian Researches, vol. ii.
p. 191.

- Pinkerton's Voyages, vol. xvi.
p. .305.

=< Ibid. p. 459.

* Heart of Africa, vol. ii.

300.

#.'

I'.'i

, i

382

rUAYEU.

The Kumis of Chittagong believe that a certain
Deity made the world and the trees and the creej)ing
tilings, and lastly ' he set to work to make one man and
' one woman, forming their bodies of clay ; but each
' night, on the completion of his work, there came a
' great snake which, while God was sleeping, devoured
* the two images.' ^ At length the Deity created a dog
which drove away the snake, and thus the creation of
man was accomplished.

We cannot fail also to be struck with the fact that
the lower forms of religion are almost independent of
Prayer. To us prayer seems almost a necessary part
of religion. But it evidently involves a belief in the
goodness of God, a truth which, as we have seen, is not
early recognised.

Of the Hottentots Kolben says, ' It is most certain
' they neither pray to any one of their deities nor utter
' a word to any mortal concerning the condition of their
' souls or a future life.' . . . Even those negroes,
says Bosnian, who have a faint conception of a higher
Deity, ' do not pray to him, or offer any sacrifices to
' him, for which they give the following reasons : —
' " God," say they, "is too high exalted above us, and
' " too great to condescend so much as to trouble him-
' " self, or think of mankind." ' ^

The Mandingoes, according to Park, regard the
Deity as ' so remote, and of so exalted a nature, that it
' is idle to imagine the feeble supplications of wretched
' mortals can reverse the decrees, and change the pur-
' poses, of unerring Wisdom.' ^ They seem, however,

1 Lewin's Hill Tracts of Cliittagong, p. 90.

- Bosman, loc. cit. p. 4!).!}.

» Park's Travels, vol. i. p. 207.

certuin
•eeping
I an and
it each
came a
ivoured
1 a doii:
tion of

ict that
dent of
iry part
in the
I, is not

certain
>r utter
of their
legroes,

higher
fices to
ons : —

us, and

e him-

rd the
that it
retched
16 pur-
^wever,

' V ij]

rUAYEB.

383

to have little confidence in their own views, and generally
assured Park, in answer to his enquiries about religion
and the immortality of the sou], that 'no man knows
' anything about it.' ' The uncontaminated African,'
says Livingstone, believes that the Great Spirit lives
above the stars, ' but they never pray to him.' ^
' Neither among the Eskimos nor Tinne,' says Richard-
son, ' could I ascertain that pr .yer was ever made to
' the " Kitche M/niito,^' the Great Spirit or " Master of
' " Life." ' ^ Dr. Prescott, in Schoolcraft's ' Indian
Tribes,' also states that the North American Indians do
not pray to the Great Spirit.^ The Caribs considered
that the Good Spirit ' is endued with so great goodness
' that it does not take any revenge even of its enemies ;
'whence it comes that they render it neither honour
' nor adoration.' *

The Karens are said to believe in a supreme God,
but they worship hi?n not with prayer or praise, or any
kind of service.^

According to IVIetz, the Todas (Neilgherry Hills)
never w^y- Even among the priests, he says, 'the
'only sign of adoration that I have ever seen them
' perform is lifting the right hand to the forehead,
' covering the nose with the thumb, when entering the
' sacred dairy : and the words, " May all be well! " are
' all that I have ever heard them utter in the form of a
' pra^'^er.' '^ Marshall, however, gives a different account.

' Zambesi, p. 147.

2 Richardann's Boat Journey, vol.
i. p. 44.

3 Prescott, Schoolcraft's Indian
Trilx-s, vol. iii. p. 22G.

* Tertre's History of the Caribby

Islands, p. 278.

* M'Mahon, The Karens of the
Gold, t'hersonese, p. 01.

" Tribes of the Neilgherries, p.

n »

3u J

^:-]

• I

3yt

PR A YER.

I''

vVccording to him,^ tlie Todiis do pray and tlieir prayers
are of the most matter-of-ftict description. Every man,
as he enters liis hut at nii^ht, turns round and mutters
to himself, " May it be well with the male children, the

* men, the cows, the female calves, and everythinf^ ; '
in which latt t expression the women and children
must be included, if they are included at all. The
material character of their religious views is amusingly
indicated by the remark of a Toda with reference to
the ' Pekkans,' which is the poorest of the Toda clans,
and has no holy place : ' Aha,' he said, they are
' poor, they do not want a god.'

A very different objection to prayer (in the sense of
a request for material benefits) was expressed by Tomo-
chichi, the Chief of the Yamacraws (North America), to
General Oglethorpe ; ^ ' that the asking for any par-
' ticular blessing looked to him like directing God ; and,
'if so, that it must be a very wicked thing. That
' for his part he thought everything that happened in
' the world was as it should be ; that God of him-
' self would do for everyone what was consistent
' with the good of the whole ; and that ov.r duty to

* him was to be content with whatever happened in
' general, and thankful for all the good that happened in
' particular.'

The connection between morality and religion will
be considered in a later chapter. Here, I will only
observe that the deities of the lower races, bemg subject
to the same passions av man, and in many cases, indeed,
themselves monsters of iniquity, regarded crime with

> :Marslmirs Todas, p. 71.

' Jones, Autiquitie? of the Southern Indians, p. 421.

: iU

THE TEMPTER.

385

)niyers
y man,
Hitters
en, the
hinji^ ; '
liildren
. The
usingly
•ence to
a clans,
ley are

sense of
Tomo-
rica), to
ny par-
d ; and,
. That
ened in
jf him-
•nsistent
duty to
)ened in
ened in

fion will
m only
subject
I, indeed,
me with

indifference, so long as the reli«!;ious coretnonios and
sacrifices in their honour were not ne^^lirtcd. Hence
it folh:)WS that throu*^']i all tlicse hjwer races tlicre is no
idea of any Being corresponding to Satan. So far, in-
deed, as their deities are evil tliey may be so called ; but
the essential cliaracter of Satan is that of the Tempter ;
hence in the order of succession tliis idea cannot arise
until morality has become connected witli religion.

Thus, then, I have endeavoured to trace the gradual
development of religion among the lower races of num.

The lower savages regard their deities as scarcely
more powerful than themselves ; they are evil, not
good ; they are to be propitiated by sacrifices, not by
prayer ; they are not creators ; they are neither onmi-
scient nor all-powerful ; they neither reward the good
nor punish the evil ; far from conferring inunortality
on man, they are not even in all cases immoi tal them-
selves.

Where the material elements of civilisation developed
themselves without any corresponding increase of know-
ledge, as, for instance, in Mexico and l^eru, a more cor-
rect idea of Divine power, without any corresponding
enlightenment as to the Divine nature, led to a religion
of terror, which finally became a temble scourge of
humanity.

Gradually, however, an increased acquaintance with
the laws of nature enlarged the mind of man. He first
supposed that the Deity fashioned the earth, raising it
out of the water, and preparing it as a dwell ing-})lace
for man, and subsequently realised the idea that land
and water were alike created by Divine power. After
regarding spirits as altogether evil, he rose to a belief

c c

■u'-l M

%i'

1 .

386

THE PROGRESS OF RELWION.

■A

in ^ood as well as in evil deities, and, gradually Kub-
ordlnating the latter to the former, wor8lii[)ped the
good spirits alone as gods, the evil sinking to the level
of demons. From believing only in ghosts, he came
gradually to the recognition of the soul : at length
uniting this belief with that in a beneficent and just
Being, he connected Morality with Religion ; a step
the importance of which it is scarcely possible to over-
estimate.

Thus we see that as men rise in civilisation, their
religion rises with them. The Australians dimly
imagine a being, spiteful, malevolent, but weak, and
dangerous only in the dark. The Negro's deity is
more powerful, but not less hateful — invisible, indeed,
but subject to pain, mortal like himself, and liable to
be made the slave of man by enchantment. The
deities of the South Sea Islanders are, some good, some
evil ; but, on the whole, more is to be feared from
the latter than to be hoped from the former. They
fashioned the land, but are not truly creators, for
earth and water existed before them. They do not
punish the evil, nor reward the good. They watch
over the affairs of men ; but if, on the one hand, witch-
craft has no power over them, neither, on the other,
can prayer influence them — they require to share the
crops or the booty of their worshippers.

It appears then, that every increase in science —
that is, in positive and ascertained knowledge — brings
with it an elevation of religion. Nor is this progress
confined to the lower races. Even within the last cen-
tury, science has purified the religion of Western
Europe by rooting out ihe dark belief in witchcraft,

SOIEX-^'' 'XlJ UELiaiON.

387

which led to thousands of executions, and hunj^ like a
black pall ovcsr the Cliristianlty of the niiddh; a;L!:e8.

The hniiiense service which Science lias thus ren-
dered to the cause of Religion and of Humanity, has
not hitherto received the recognition wliich it deserves.
Science is still regarded by many excellent, but narrow-
minded, persons as hostile to religious truth, while in
fact she is only opposed to religious error. No doubt
her influence has always been exercised in opposition
to those who present contradictory assertions under the
excuse of mystery, as well as to all but the highest con-
ceptions of Divine power. The time, however, is ap-
proaching when it will be generally perceived that, so
far from Science being opposed to Religion, true religion
is, without Science, impossible ; and if we consider the
various aspects of Christianity as understood by dif-
ferent nations, we can hardly fail to see that the
dignity, and therefore the truth, of their religious be-
liefs, is in direct relation to their knowledge of Science
and of the great physical laws by which our universe
is governed.

,4
1

♦

■•V.

I' C 'i

'■'. i

CHAPTER VIII.

CIIARACTV.R AND MORALS.

THE accounts which we possc^^;^, of the character
of savage races are conflicting and unsatisfac-
tory, in some cases travellers have expressed strong
opinions, for which they had ohviously no sufficient
foundation. Thus the unfortunate La Perouse, who
spent only one day on Easter Island, states his helief
that the inhabitants ' are as corrupt as the circum-

* stances in which they are placed will permit them to

* be.' ^ On the other hand, the Friendly Islar ders were
so called by Captain Cook on account of the apparent
kindness and hospitality with which they received him.
Yet, as we now know, this appearance of friendship
was entirely hypocritical. The natives endeavoured to
lull him into security, with the intention of seizing his
ship and massacring the crew ; which design a fortunate
accident alone prevented them from carrying into
effect ; yet Captain Cook never had the slightest suspi-
cion of their treachery, or of the danger which he so
narrowly escaped.

In some cases the same writer gives accounts totally
at variance with one another. Thus Mr. Ellis,^ the ey-

' La P^rouse's Voyage, English - Polynesian Reaearcbes, vol. ii.

edition, vol. ii. p. 327. p. 25.

'!»

THE an AU ACT Ell OF SAVAGES.

WS'J

cellent iniwsioimry of the Pacific, Mtatcs that the moral
character of the Taliitiaiiw was ' awfully dark, and
' notwithstanding the apparent niildneas of tlwjir di.spo-
' sition, and the cheerful vivacity of their conversation,
' no portion of the liunian race was ever, perhaps, sunk
' lower in brutal licentiousness and moral degradation.'
Yet, speaking of this same people, and in the very
same volume, he tells us that they were most anxious
to obtain Bibles : on the day when they were to be distri-
buted the natives came from considerable distances, and
' the place was actually thronged until the copies were
' expended. In their api)lication at our own houses we
'fouiid it imj)ossible to restrain the })eople, so great
' was their anxiety.' Under these circumstances we
cannot wonder that Captain Cook and other navigators
found in them much to admire as well as to conticmn.

The Kalmucks, again, have been very differently
described by different travellers. Pallas, speaking of
their character, says, ' 11 m'a paru intiniment meilleur que
' ne Font depeint plusieurs de nos historiens voyageurs.' ^

So also the aboriginal tribes of India, as pointed out
by Mr. Hunter,'"^ bave been painted in the blackest
colours by some, and highly praised by others.

Marmer gives an excellent account of the state of
manners among the Tongans, and one which well illus-
trates the difficulty of arriving at correct ideas on such
a subject, especially among a ])eople of a different race
from ourselves and in a different state of civilisation.
He describes them as loyj ^ and pious,* obedient child-

m'.'i

i, vol. ii.

' Voyages, vol. i. p. 499. Ilif?^' Asia, pp. o, 9.

* Comparative Dictionary of the ^ Loc. tit. vol. ii. p. 155.

Non-Aryan lianguages of India and * P. 154.

1 1:1

390

DIFFICULTY OF ASCERTAINING

ren,^ affectionate parents,^ kind husbands,^ modest and
fairMul wives,* and true friends.^

On the other hand, they seem to have had little
feeling of morality. They ' had no words for justice or
' injustice, for cruelty or humanity.' ^ ' Theft, revenge,
' rape, and murder under many circumstances are not
' held to be crimes.' They had no idea of future rewards
and punishments. They saw no harm in seizing ships
by treachery and murdering the crews. The men were
cruel, treacherous, and revengeful. Marriages were
terminable at the whim of the husband,^ and, except-
ing in married women, chastity was not regarded as a
/irtue, though it was thought improper for a woman
frequently to change her lover. Yet we are told that,
on the whole,^ this system, although so opposed to our
feelings, had * not the least appearance of any bad effect.
' The women were tender, kind mothers, the children
' well cared for.' Both sexes appeared to be contented
and happy in their relations to each other, and ' as to
' domestic quarrels, they were seldom known.' We
must not judge them too hardly for their proposed
treachery to Captain Cook. Even in Northern Europe
shipwrecks were long considered fair spoil, the strangers
being connected with the natives by no civil or family
ties, and the idea of natural right not being highly
developed." With a seafiu'ing people it even seemed to
be perhaps impious and wrong to succour those whom
the gods of the waters had endeavoured to destroy.

» p. 156.

' P. irn.

» p. 17i).
* p. 170.
6 p. loL>.

« p. 148.
' P. 107.
8 P. 177.

^ See Montesquieu, E>^jirit dos
Lois, vol. ii. p. 190.

st and

i little
stice or
ivenge,
ire not
ewards
r ships
n were
3 were
3xcept-
sd as a
woman
d that,
to our
i effect,
hildren
atented

' as to

'oposed

Europe

rangers

family

highly
smed to

whom
•oy.

THE CHARACTER OF SAVAGE RACES.

391

\ti\mt dv

Lastly, if, in addition to the other sources of diffi-
culty, we remember that of language, we cannot wonder
that the characters of savage races have been so differ-
ently described by different travellers. We all knew
how difficult it is to judge an individual, and it must
be much more so to judge a nation. In fact, whether
any given writer praises or blames a particular race,
depends at least as much on his own character as on
that of the people.

On the whole, however, I think we may assume
that life and property are far less secure in savage than
in civilised communities ; and though the guilt of a
murder or a theft may be very different under different
circumstances, to the suflerer the result is much the
same.

Mr. Galbraith, who lived for many years, as Indian
agent, among the Sioux (North America), thus describes
them : ^ They are ' bigoted, barbarous, and exceedingly
' superstitious. They regard most of the vices as
' virtues. Theft, arson, rape, and murder are among
* them regarded as the means of distinction ; and the
' young Indian from childhood is taught to regard
' killing as the highest of virtues. In their dances, and
' at their feasts, the warriors recite their deeds of theft,
' pillage, and slaughter as precious things ; and the
' highest, indeed the only, ambition of a young brave a
' to secure " the feather," which is but a record of his
' having murdered or participated in the murder of
' some human being — whether man, woman, or child,
' it is immaterial ; and, after he has secured his first
' " feather," ai)petite is whetted to increase the nuniber

> Ethn. Journal, 1809, p. 304.

'4- \

::!::•■ (■

392

ABSENCE OF THE IDEA OF

r *■

' in his cap, as an Indian brave is estimated by the
' number of his feathers.'

In Tahiti the missionaHes considered that ' not less
' than two-thirds of the children were murdered by their
' parents.' ^ Mr. Ellis adds, ' I do not recollect having
' met with a female in the islands during the whole
' period of my residence there, who had been a mother
' while idolatry prevailed, who had not imbrued her
' hands in the blood of her offspring.' Mr. Nott also
makes the same assertion. Girls were more often killed
than boys, because they were of less use in fisliing inid
in war.

Mr. Wallace maintains that savages act up to their
simple moral code ^x least as well as we do ; but if a
man's simple moral cede permits him to rob or murder,
that may be some excuse for him, but it is little conso
lation to the sufferer.

As a philosophical question, however, the relative
character of different races is less interesting than the
moral condition of the lower races of mankind as a
whole.

Mr. Wallace, in the concluding chapter of his in-
teresting work on the Malay Archipelago, has expressed
the opinion that while civilised communities ' have
' progressed vastly beyond the savage state in intel-
' lectual achievements, we have not advanced equally in
' morals.' Nay, he even goes further : in a perfect social
state, he says, 'every man >vould have a sufficiently
' well-bahinced intellectual oiganisation to understand
' the moral law in all its details, and would require no
' other motive but the I'ree impulses of his own nature

' Polynesian Ilosoiirclie.s, vul. i. pp. 334, 340.

MORALITY AMONG SAVAGES.

393

' to obey that law. Now, it is very remarkable that
' among people in a very low state of civilisation, we
' find some approach to such a perfect social state ; '
and he adds, 'it is not too much to say that the mass of
' our populations have not at all advanced beyond the
' savage code of morals, and have in many cases sunk
' below it.'

Far from thinking this true, I should rather be
disposed to say that Man has, perhaps, made more
progress in moral than in either material or intellectual
advancement ; for while even the lowest savages have
many material and intellectual attainments, they are, it
seems to me, almost entirely v/anting in moral feeling ;
though I am aware that the contrary opinion has been
expressed by many eminent authorities.

Thus Lord Karnes ^ assumes as an undoubted fact
' that every individual is endued witli a sense of right
' and wrong, more or less distinct ; ' and after admit-
ting that very different views as to morals are held by
different people and different races, he remarks, ' these
' facts tend not to disprove the reality of a common
' sense in morals ; they only prove that the moral sense
' has not been equally perfect at a]l times, nor in all
' countries.'

Ilume expresses the same opinion in very decided
language. ' Let a man's insensibility,' he says, ' be ever
' so great, he must often be touched with the images of
'right and wrong ; and, let his prejudices be ever so
' obstinate, he nmst observe that others are susceptible
' ol like impressions.' ^ Nay, he even maintains that

' History of Man, vol. ii. p, 0, vol. iv. ■^. 18.
'* Hume's Essays, vol. ii. p. '20',i.

■He'-'' il

'if I a

% n

Hi;V!

n .■

394

THE SENSE OF lilOHT AND WliOXO.

\ jl

iff

' those who have denied the reality of moral distinc-
' tions may be ranked among the disingenuous dispu-

* tants ; nor is it conceivable that any human creature

* could ever seriously believe that all characters and

* actions were alike entitled to the affection and regard
' of every one.'

Locke, on the other hand, questions the existence
of innate principles, and terminates his chapter on the
subject in the following words : * It is reasonable,' he
says,^ ' to demand the marks and characters, whereby
the genuine innate principles may be distinguished
from others ; that so, amidst the great variety of pre-
tenders, I may be kept from mistakes in so material
a point as this. When this is done, I shall be ready
to embrace such welcome and useful propositions ;
and till then I may with modesty doubt, since I fear
universal consent, which is the only one produced,
will scarce prove a sufficient mark to direct my choice,
and assure me of any innate principles. From what
has been said, I think it past doubt that there are no
practical principles wherein all men agree ; and there-
fore none innate.'

Let us now see what light is thrown on this in-
teresting question by the study of savage life. Mr.
Wallace draws a charming picture of some small savage
communities which he has visited. Each man, he says,
scrupulously respects the rights of his fellow, and any
infraction of those rights rarely or never takes place.
In such a community all are nearly equal. There are
none of those wide distinctions of education and igno-
rance, wealth and poverty, master and servant, which

' Oil tlie Unman Undevstandiiipr, hook i. ch. 3, sec. 2.

V tfl

igno-

LIFE IN SMALL SAVAGE COMMUNITIES.

■Mi

' are the product of our civilisation ; there is none of
' that wide-spread division of labour, which, while it
' increases wealth, produces also conflicting interests ;
'tl lore is not that severe competition and struggle for
' existence, or for >7ealtli, which the population of
* civilised countries inevitably creates.'

But does this prove that they are in a high moral
condition ? Does it prove even that they have any
moral sense at all ? Surely not. For if it doco, we
must equally credit rooks and bees, and most other
gregarious animals, with a moral state higher than that
of civilised man. I would not indeed venture to assert
that the ant or the bee is not possessed of moral feel-
ings, but we are surely not in a position to affinn
it. In the very passage quoted, Mr. Wallace has
pomted out that the inducements to crime are in small
communities much less than in populous countries.
The absence of crime, however, does not constitute
virtue; and, without temptation, mere innocence has no
merit.

Moreover, in small communities almost all the mem-
bers are related to one another, and ftimily affection
puts on the appearance of virtue. But though parental
and filial affection possess a very moral aspect, they
have a totally different origin and a distinct character.
To do a thing which is right, is by no means the same
as to do it because it is right.

We do not generally attribute moral feelings to
quadrupeds and birds, yet, perhaps, among animals,
there is no stronger feeling than that of the mother for
her offspring. She will submit to any sacrifices for
their welfare, and fight against almost any odds for

') «]

31)0

INSECURITY OF LIFE AND PliOFERTY

|5| 1

j, is

their protection. No follower of Mr. Darwin will be
surprised ."t this, because for generation after generation
those mothers in whom this feeling was most strong
have had the best chance of rearing their young. It is
not, however, moral feeling in the strict sense of the
term ; and she would, indeed, be a cold-hearttd mother
who cherished and protected her infant only because it
was right to do so.

Family affection and moral feeling have, indeed, been
very generally confused together by travellers, yet there
is some direct testimony which appears to show that the
moral condition of savages is really much lower than
has been usually supposed.

Thus Mr. Dove, speaking of the Tasmanians, asserts
that they were entirely without any ' moral views and
' impressions.'

Governor Eyre says of the Australians that, ' having
'no moral sense of what is just and equitable in the
' abstract, their only test of propriety must in such
' cases be, whether they are numerically or physically
' strong enough to brave the vengeance of those whom
' they may have provoked or injured.' ^ Mr. Ridley
tells us ^ that he had very great difficulty in conveying
to the nations of Australia any idea of sin, and
eventually he could only describe it by the following
roundabout expression : ' Nyeane kauungo warawara
' yanani.'

' Conscience,' says Burton, ' does not exist in Eastern
* Africa, and " repentance " expresses regret for missed
' o})portunities of mortal crime, llobbery constitutes

■ D' 'coveries in Central Australia, vol. ii. p. 384,
'■* Queensland, p. 442.

will be
Deration

strong

f. It is

B of the

mother

ictiuse it

!ed, been
et there
that the
er than

, asserts
jws and

' havin<»'
in the
n such
ysically
3 whom
Ridley
iveying
n, and
llowing
irawara

iastern
missed
jtitutes

AMONG SAVAGES.

307

* an honourable man ; murder — the more atrocious the
' midnight crime the better — makes the hero.' '

The Yoruba negroes, on the West Coast of Africa,
according to the same author,'^ ' are covetous, cruel, and
' wholly deficient in what the civilised man calls con-

* science ; ' though it is right to add that some of his
other statements with reference to this tribe seem
opposed to this view.

Mr. Neighbors states that amon^ the Comanches of
Texas ' no individual action is considered a crime, but
' every man acts for himself according to his own jndg-
' ment, unless some superior power — for instance, tluiL

* of a popular chief — should exercise authority over him.
' They believe that when they were created r.he Great
' Spirit gave them the privilege of a free and uncon-
' strained use of their individual faculties.' *'

The Kacharis, according to Dalton, had, ' in their

* own language no words for sin, for piety, for prayer,
' for repentance.' *

The Damaras ' seem to have no perceptible notion
of right or wrong.' ^ Speaking of the Kaffirs, Mr.
Casalis, who lived for twenty-three years in South
Africa, says^ that ' morality among these people depends
' so entirely upon social order that all political disor-
' ganisation is immediately followed by a state of de-
' generacy, which the re -establishment of order alone
' can rectify.' Thus, then, although their language
contained words signif^nng most of the virtues, as well

' Burton's First Footsteps in ii. p. 131.

East Africa, p. 17G. ■• Des. Etiin. of Bengal, p. 8-5.

* Abcokuta, vol. i. p. 303. See -^ Galton, loc cif. p. 72.

also vol. ii. p. 218. « The Basutoj*, p. 300.

3 Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes, vol.

'■-H\\

ii.l

:{98 SECUniTY VEPnNDENT ON LAW AND CUSTihV

ns the vices, it would appear from the above passages
that their moral quality was not cleorly recognised. It
must be confessed, however, that the evidence is not
very conclusive, as Mr. Casalis, even in the same
chapter, expresses an opinion on the point scarcely con-
sistent Avith that quoted above.

Similar accounts are ji^iven as rei^-ards Central Africa.
Tlius ai elenna,^ and in tlie surrounding districts, ' when-
ever a town is deprived of its chief, the inhabitants
acknowledge no law — anarchy, troubles, ana confusion
immedi. tely prevail, and till a successor is appointed
all labour is at an end. The stronger oppress the
weak, and consummate every species of crime, with-
out being amenable to any tribunal for their actions.
Private property is no longer respected ; and thus,
before a person arrives to curb its licentiousness, a
town is not unfrequently reduced from a flourishing
state of prosperity and of happiness to all the horrors
of desolation.' Livingstone mentions^ a similar custom
among the Banyai, a tribe living on the river Zambesi ;
and the same state of things also occurred in the Sand-
wich Islands.^

The Tongans, or Friendly Islanders, had in many
respects made great advances, yc' ivlariner'* states that,
' on a strict examination of their lanj^uaere, we discover

* no words essentially expressive of some of tlie liigher
' qualities of human merit: as virtue, justice, humanity;
' nor of the contrary, as vice, injustice, cruelty. &c.

* They have, indeed, expressions for these ideas, but

^ R. and J. Lander's Niger Ex-
pedition, vol. i. p. 00. Bosnian, he.
cif. p. 34'". Ualzel, loc, cit, pp. 0, 7,
151.

2 Travels in South Africa, p. G-M.
' Gerland. Waltz's Anthr. vol.
vi. p. 203.

■* Tonfra Islands, vol. ii. p. 14'/.

R.irifER TITAN OX yiORAUTY.

:iOO

tliey are equally applicable to other tliinn^s. To ex-
press a virtuohs or good man, they would say
" taiigata lille," a good man, or " tangata loto lilKV' ^
man with a good mind; but the word lille, good (un-
like our virtuous) is equally a})plicable to an axe,
canoe, or anything else ; again, thoy have no word to
express humanity, mercy, &c., but afa, which rather
means friendship, and is a word of cordial salutation.'
^Ir. Campbell observes that the Soors (one of the
aboriginal tribes of India), ' while described as small,
mean, and very black, and like the Santals naturally
harmless, peaceable, and industrious, ? re also said to
Ve without moral sense.'* 'The Redskin,' says Col.
Dodge, * has no moral sense whatever.' ^

The South American Indians of the Gran Chaco are
said by the missionaries to ' make no distinction be-
' tween right and wrong, and have therefore neither
' fear nor hope of any present or future punishment or
' reward, nor any mysterious terror of some super-
' natural power, whom they might seek to assuage by
' sacrifices or superstitious rites.' ^

Indeed, I do not remember a single instance in
which a savage is recorded as having shown any symp-
toms of remorse ; and almost the only case I can call to
mind, in which a inan belonging to one of the lower
races has accounted for an act, by saying explicitly that
it was right, was when Mr. Hunt asked a young Fee-
jeean why he had killed his mother.'^

' G. r'anipbell, The Ethnolnp}' of ' Tlic Voice of Pity, vol. xi. p.

India, p. 37. 220.

■^ Hunting Grounds of the Great ' Willies' Voyage, p. '.>o.

AVost, p. 2r.-i.

400

WICKEDNESS OF SAVAGE DEITIES,

The evidence nflbrded ])y Innf^nnp^e is very sug-
pestive. The words indicntinj^ ^ood and evil and tlie
different virtues, had, even in <jiir own case, originally
no moral signification. 'Ihoy arc iiictaphors, soinetimcs
indc(!d, rather farfetched. This seems to show that
language is older than morality, for if the ideas of good
and evil, right and wrong, had heen themselves innate,
surely we shoidd have had original words for tliem.

It is clear that religion, except in the more ad-
vanced races, has no moral aspect or influence. The
deities arc almost invariably regarded as evil.

In Feejee ^ ' the names of the gods indicate their
'• characters. Thus, as Williams tells us, Ndauthina
' steals women of rank and beauty by night or torch -
' light. KumbunnvjUHia is the rioter ; JMbatimona, the
' brain-eater ; Kjivuravu, the murderer ; Mainatavasara,
* fresh from the cutting-up or slaughter ; and a host i)e-
' sides of the same sort.'

In Peru ' every vice had its own especial deity.' ■■

The character of the; fii-eek gods is familiar to us,
and was anything but moral. Such beings would not
necessarily reward the good, or punish the evil. Hence
it is not surprising that Socrates saw little connection
between ethics and religion, or that Aristotle altogether
separated morality from theology. Hence also we
cannot be sur[)ri8ed to find that, even when a belief in
a future state has dawned on the civilised mind, it is
not at first associated with reward or punishment.

The Australians, though they had a vague belief in
ghosts, and supposed that after death they become

' Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i.
p. 218. "

- Garcila.s,s() do la Vogn, vol. i.
p. V2i.

' '?

MUliALITY NOT FOVMjED ON liELlOlON. 401

wliitomen ; that, as tlicy say, * Fall down Mackman,
'jump up wliitoinaii ; ' have no idea of retribution.^
The Guinea negroes 'have no idea of future rewards or
' punishments for the good or ill actions of their past
' life.' ^ Other negro races, however, have more ad-
vanced ideas on the subject.

' The Tahitians believe in the immortality of the soul,
* at least its existence in u separate state, .-ind that there
' are two situations of different degrees of hai)pines8,
' somewhat analogous to our heaven and hell : the supe-
' rior situation they call " Tavirua I'erai," the other
' " Tiahoboo." They do not, however, consider them
' as places of reward and punishment, but as receptacles
' for different classes ; the first for their chiefs and
' principal people, the other for those of inferior rank ;
' for they do not suppose that their actions here in
' the least influence their future state, or, indeed, that
' they come under the cognisance of their deities at
' all.' 3

In Tonga and at Nikahiva the natives believe that
their chiefs are immortal, but not the common people.*
The Tonga people, says Mariner, ' do not, indeed,
' believe in any future state of rewards and punish-
' ments.' ^

Williams^ tells us that 'offences in Fijian estima-
' tion, are light or grave according to the rank of the
' offender. Murder by a chief is less heinous than a

'I
>

>'■ •

lief in
K'come

I, vol, i.

' Voyage of the ' Fly,' vol. ii.
p. 22.

* Bosnian, loc. cit. p. 401.

^ See Cook's Voyage round the
World in Ilawkesworth's Voyages,
vol. ii. p. 230.

* Kleram, vol. iv. p. 351.

* Tonga Islands, vol. ii. p. 147.
Hale, U. S. Exp. Exp. p. 'M.

® Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i. p.

28.

I) D

402

FUTURE LIFE NOT ONE OF

I; i I

I *:

* petty larceny committed ])y u man of low rank.
' ( )iily a few crimes art' rej^arded as serious ; e.g. theft,

* adultery, alxluction, witchcraft, infringement of a

* tabu, disrespect to a chief, incendiarism, and treason ; '
and h(! elsewhere mentions that the Fcejeeans,^ though
believing in a future existence, ' shut out from it the

idea of any moral retribution in the shape either of
reward or punishment.' In the religion of the Fee-
jeeans, says Seemann, ' there does not seem to be any
separation between the abodes of the good and the
wicked, nothing that corresponds to our heaven and
hell.' ^ The Siunatrans, according to Marsden, 'had
some idea of a future life, but not as a state of retribu-
tion ; conceiving immortality to be the lot of a rich
rather than of a good man. I recollect that an in-
habitant of one of the islands farther eastwards ob-
served to me, with great simplicity, that only great
men went to the skies ; how should poor men find
admittance there ? ' ^

In the Island of Bintang,* ' the people always con-
ceived present possession to constitute right, how-
ever that possession might have been acquired ; but
yet they made no scruple of deposing and murdering
their sovereigns, and justified their acts by this argu-
ment : that the fate of concerns so important as the lives
of kings was in the hands of God, whose vicegerents they
were, and that if it was not agreeable to him, and the
consequence of his will, that they should perish by
the daggers of their subjects, it could not so happen.'

' FijiandtheFijians,vol.i.p. 248.
* Seemann's Mission to Yiti, p.

400.

■* ^larsden's History of Sumatra,
p. 289.

' Ibid. p. 412.

r{jxisiiMi':sT o/.' nnwAnns.

4u:i

The N^'fldiihs of Ceylon hud no iilea of future rewards
or punishments.^

The Kookics of Chitta^^on^^ * have no idea of hell or
' heaven, or of any punishment for evil deeds, or rewards
' for good actions.' '^ Forsyth also makes a similar
statement as regards the Gonds.^ According to Bailey,
again, the Veddahs of Ceylon ' have no idea of a future
* state of rewards and punishments.' "* The Hos in
Central India ' believe that the souls of the dead
' become " bhoots," spirits, but no thought of reward
'or punishment is connected with the change.'^

Speaking of South Africa, Koll)en ^ says, ' that the
' Hottentots believe in the immortality of the soul has
'been shown in a foregoing chapter. But they have
' no notion, that ever I could gather, of rewards and
' punishments after death.' Chief Commissioner
Warner remarks that the Kaffirs have ' net the slightest
' knowledge of a future state of rewards and punish-
' ments arising out of the moral quality of our actions
' in tliis life.' 7

In Dahome, according to Burton,* the ' next world
' offers none of those rewards and punishments by
' which, according to the Semitic animist, the balance
' of jrood and evil in this life is to be struck. He who
' escapes punishment here is safe hereafter.'

.'' i\

1- ■

1 Bailey, Trans. Ethn. Soc. N.S.
vol. ii. p. 300.

' llennel, quoted in Lewin's Ilill
Tracts of (Jhittagon<r, p. 110.

^ Highlands of Central India,
p. 145.

* Trans. Ethn. Soc. N.S. vol. ii.
p. .'JOO.

* Dalton, Trans. Ethn. Soc. 1808,
p. 38.

^ History of the Cape of Good
Hope, vol. i. p. 314.

^ Maclean's Conipend. of Kaffir
Laws and Customs, p. 78.

* Mission to Dahome, vol. ii. p.
157.

I) n

I I
m

' 3

|; I

404

LAW AND RIGHT.

Among the Mexicans ^ and Peruvians,^ again, the
religion was entirely independent of moral considera-
tions, and in some other parts of America the future
condition is supposed to depend not on conduct but
on rank.^ In North America ' it is rare,' says Tanner,
' to observe among the Indians any ideas which would
' lead to the belief that they look upon a future state as
' one of retribution.' *

Among the Siberian tribes the deities are supposed
to reward those who conciliate them by worship and
offerings, but to morality they are regarded as indif-
ferent.^ In the great Chinese collection of poems ' there

* are rewards and dignity for the good after death, but

* nothing is said of any punishment for the bad.' ^ The
Arabs and Afsrhans conceive that a broken oath brings
misforbme on the place where it was uttered.^

Even among ourselves Emerson has pointed out
that every word which we now use in a moral sense
has originally a material signification. Right means
straight, wrong twisted &c.^

In fact, I believe that the lower races of men may
be said to be deficient in the idea of Right, though
quite familiar with that of Law. This leads to the
curious, though not illogical, results mentioned in page
460.

That there should be any races of men so deficient

' Miiller, Ges. der Amer. Urre- Nations de FEmpire de Russie, pt.
ligion. p. 5G5.

^ Ibid. p. 410. But see Prescott,
vol. i. p. 83.

3 Ibid. p. 139. See also pp. 289,
505.

* Tanner's Narrative, p. 309.

* Miiller, Des. de toutes lea

iii. p. 140.

•^ The Sheking, translated by
Mr. Legge, p. 48.

■^ Klemra, Culturgescliichte, vol,
iv. p. 190. Masson, Journeys ii:
Balocliistan, i^-c, vol. ii. p. 268.

" lunersim's Nature, ch. iv.

QltOWTH OF MOliAL FEELING.

405

gain, the
lonsidera-
le future
duct but
i Tanner,
;h would
3 state as

supposed
ship and
as indif-
ms ' there
leath, but
1/ ' The
h brinof!^

nted out
ral sense
it means

men may
, thouo;h
Is to the
I in page

deficient

Russie,

pt.

mslated

cliichte,

vol.

rourneys
p. 258.
ch. iv.

ii:

in moral feeling, was altogether opposed to the precon-
ceived ideas with which I commenced the study of
savage life, and I have arrived at the conviction by
slow degrees, and even with reluctance. I have, how-
ever, been forced to this conclusion, not only by the
direct statements of travellers, but also by the general
tenor of their remarks, and especially by the remarkable
absence of repentance and remorse among the lower
races of men.

On the whole, then, it appears to me that the moral
feelings deepen with the gradual growth of a race.

External circumstances, no doubt, exercise much
influence on character. We very often see, however,
that the possession of one virtue is counterbalanced by
some correspondmg defect. Thus the North American
Indians are brave and generous, but they are also cruel
j,nd reckless of life. Moreover, in the early stages of
law, motive is never considered ; a fact which shows
liow little hold morality has, even on communities
which have made considerable progress. Some cases
which have been quoted as illustrating the contrast
between the ideas of virtue entertained by different
races seem to prove the absence, rather than the perver-
sity, of sentiment on the subject. I cannot believe, for
instance, that theft and murder have ever been really
regarded as virtues. In a barbarous state they were,
no doubt, means of distinction, and in the absence of
moral feelings were regardc I with no reprobation. I
cannot, however, suppose that they could be con-
sidered as ' right,' though they might give rise to a
feeling of respect, and even of admiration. So also
the Greeks regarded the duplicity of Ulysses as an

i "* ". J 1

•if: ■ '

,\ f ■* »

,/:H

■ •

406

ORIGIN OF MOBAL FEELING.

element in his greatness, but surely not as virtue in
itself.

What, then, is the ciigin of moral feeling ? Some
regard it as intuitive as an original instinct implanted
in the human mind. Herbert Spencer,^ on the contrary,
maintains that ' moral intuitions are the results of accu-
' mulated experiences of utility ; gradually organised

* and inherited, they have come to be quite independent
' of conscious experience. Just in the same way that I

* believe the intuition of space, possessed by any living
' individual, to have arisen from organised and consoli-

* dated experiences of all antecedent individuals, who

* bequeathed to him their slowly-developed nervous or-

* ganisation : just as I believe that this intuition, requir-
'ing only to be made definite and complete by personal
' experiences, has practically become a form of thought
' apparently quite independent of experience ; so do I

* believe that the experiences of utility, organised and

* consolidated through all past generations of the human

* race, have been producing corresponding nervous mo-
' difications, which, by continued transmission and accu-

* mulation, have become in us certain facidties of moral
^intuition — certain emotions responding to right and
' wrong conduct, which have no appaient basis in the
' individual experiences of utility.'

I cannot entirely subscribe to either of these views.
The moral feelings are now, no doubt, intuitive ; but if
the lower races of savages have none, they evidently
cannot have been so originally, nor can they be regarded
as natural to man. Neither can I accept the opposite
theory. While entirely agreeing with Mr. Spencer that

' Bain's Mental and Moral Scionce, p, 722.

ORIGIN OF MORAL FEELING,

407

'•.1 - <1

»^irtue in

? Some
nplanted
contrary,
of accii-
rganised
jpendent
y that I
y living
consoli-
als, who
'^ous or-
, requir-
personal
thought
so do I
ised and
! human
ous mo-
ld accu-
f moral
^ht and
; in the

3 views.
; but if
adently
3garded
>pi30site
;er that

* there have been, and still are, developing in the race,
' certain fundamental moral intuitions,' I feel, with Mr.
Hutton, much difficulty in conceiving that, in Mr.
Spencer's words, ' these moral intuitions are the results
' of the accumulated experiences of Utility ; ' that is to
say, of Utility to the individual. When it is once real-
ised that a given line of conduct would invariably be
useful to the individual, it is at once regarded as ' ^aga-
' cious ' rather than ' virtuous.' Yirtue implies tempta-
tion ; temptation indicates a feeling that a given action
may benefit the individual at tlie exjiense of others, or
in defiance of authority. It is evident, indeed, that
feelings actino; on generation after veneration mifjlit
produce a continually deepening conviction, but I fail
to perceive how this explains the difference between
' right ' and ' utility.'

Yet utility in one sense has, I think, been naturally
and yet unconsciously selected as the basis of morals.
Mr. Hutton, if I understand him correctly, doubts this.
Honesty, for instance, he says,^ ' must certainly have

* been associated by our ancestors with many unhappy
' as well as many happy consequences, and we know
' that in ancient Greece dishonesty was openly and
'actually associated with happy consequences, in the
' admiration for the guile and craft of Ulysses.'

This seems to me a good crucial case. Honesty, on
their own part, may, indeed, have been, and no doubt
was, ' associated by our ancestors with many unhappy
' as well as many happy consequences ; ' but honesty on
the part of others could surely have nothing but happy
results. Thus, w^hile the perception that ' honesty

* Macniillan's Maprazine, 1860, p. 271.

'.' 'fi

■m . ■

:J:iii^

-t'M

11 .

408

ORiaiN OF MORAL FEELTNO.

Ms the best policy' was, no doubt, as Mr. Hiitton
observes, ' long subsequent to the most imperious enun-
* elation of its sacredness as a duty,' honesty would be
recognised as a virtue so soon as men perceive the
sacredness of any duty. As soon as contracts were
entered into between indi7:.luals or states it became
manifestly the interest of each that the other should be
honest. Any failure in this respect would naturally be
condemned by the sufferer. It is precisely because
honesty is sometimes associated with unhappy conse-
quences, that it is regarded as a virtue. If it had always
been directly advantageous to all parties, it would have
been classed as useful, not as right ; it would have lacked
the essential element which entitles it to rank as a virtue.
Or take respect for Age. We find, even in Aus-
tralia, laws, if I may so term them, appropriating the
best of everything to the old men. Natural ' y the old men
lose no opportunity of impressing these injunctions on
the young ; they praise those who conform, and con-
demn those who resist. Hence the custom is strictly
adhered to. I do not say, that to the Australian mind
this presents itself as a sacred duty ; but it would, I
think, in the course of time have ccme to be so con-
sidered.

For when a race had made some progress in intel-
lectual development, a difference would certainly be
felt between those acts which a man was taught to do
as conducive to his own direct advantage, and those
which were not so, and yet which were enjoined for
any other reason. Hence would arise the idea of rigid
and duty, as distinct from mere utility.

How much more our notions of right depend on the

ORIGIN OF MORAL FEE LIN ti.

40l»

lessons wc receive when young tlian on hereditary
ideas, becomes evident, if we consider the different
moral codes existing in our own country. Nay, even
in the very same individual, two contradictory systems
may often be seen side by side in incongruous associa-
tion.

Lastly, it may be observed that in our own case
religion and morality are closely connected together.
Yet the sacred character, which forms an integral part
in our conception of duty, could not arise until Keligioii
became moral. Nor would this take place luitil the
deities were conceived to be beneficent beings. As
soon, however, as this was the case, they would natu-
rally be supposed to regard with aj)probati()n all that
tended to beneftt their worshi[>pers, and to condemn all
actions of the opposite character. This step was an
immense bench c to mankind, since that dread of the
imseen powers which had previously been wasted on
the production of mei'c ceremonies and sacrifices, at
once invested the moral feelings with a sacredness, and
consecjuently with a force, which they had not until
then possessed.

Authority, then, seems to me the origin, and utility,
though not in the manner suggested ])y Mr. Spencer^
tlie criterion, of virtue. Mr. Ilutton, however, in the
concluding paragraph of his interesting paper, urges
that surely, if this were the case, by this time ' some one
' elementary moral law should be as deeply ingrained
' in human practice as the geometrical law that a
' straight line is the shortest way between two points.'
I see no such necessity. A child whose parents belong
to different nations, with different moral codes, would.

'• n

410

ORIGIN OF MORAL FEELING.

1 suppose, have the moral feeling deep, and yet might
be without any settled ideas as to particular moral
duties. And this is in reality our own case. Our ances-
tors have now for many generations had a feeling that
some actions were right and some were wrong, but at
different times they have had very different codes of
morality. Hence we have a deeply-seated moral feel-
ing, and yet, as anyone who has children may satisfy
himself, no such decided moral code. Children have a
deep feeling of right and wrong, but no such decided
or intuitive conviction as to which actions are light and
which are wrong.

n i

ir ances-

411

:^ i H

CHAPTER IX.

LANGUAGE.

ALTHOUGH it as been at various times stfited
that certain savage tribes are entirely without
language, none of these accounts appear to be well
authenticated, and they are a priori extremely improb-
able.

At any rate, even the lowest races of which we
have any satisfactory account possess a language, im-
perfect though it may be, and eked out to a gi'eat
extent by signs. I do not suppose, however, that this
custom has arisen from the absence of words to rei)re-
sent their ideas, but rather because in all countries in-
habited by savages the number of languages is very
great, and hence there is a gTeat advantage in being-
able to communicate by signs.

Thus James, in his expedition to the Rocky Moun-
tains, speaking of the Kiawa-Kashaia Indians, says,
These nations, althougli constantly associating toge-
ther and united under the influence of the Bear- Tooth,
are yet totally ignorant of each other's laiigaage, inso-
much tluit it was no uncommon occurrence to see two
individutds of different nations sitting upon the ground
and conversing freely by jneans of the language of
signs. In the art of thus conveying their ideas they
were thorough adepts ; and their manual display was

A I i

7 ; i«»

, I

iti

.'*'f;.

412

GESTURE LANGUAGE.

' only interrupted at remote intervals by a srrrlo, or by
'the auxiliary of an articulated word of the inguage
' of the Crow Indians, which to a vciy limite( extent
' passes current among them.' ^ Fisher,^ also, peal . ,g
of the Comanclies and various Rii»TOimdiug tribes,
S97S that they h.-'ve 'a language of signs by which
■'H Indians and trades can understand one another ;
' iu'd they always make these signs when conununicat-
• iug ariong themselves. The men, when conversing
together, in their lodges, sit upon skins, cross-legged
like a Turk, and speak and make signs in corrobora-
tion of what they say, with their hands, so that either
a blind or a deaf man coidd understand tlx'ni. For
instance, I meet an Indian, and wish to ask him if h
saw six waggons drawn by horned cattle, with three
Mexican and three American teamsters, and a man
mounted on horseback. I make these signs : — I point
" you," then to his eyes, meaning " see ; " then hold
uj) all my fingers on the right hand and the fore finger
on the left, meaning " six ; " then I make two circles by
bringing the ends of my thumbs and fore fingers to-
gether, and, holding my two hands out, move my
wrists in such a way as to indicate waggon wheels
revolving, meaning " Avaggons ; " then, by making an
upward motion with each hand from both sides of my
head, I indicate " horns," signifying horned cattle ;
then by first holding up three fingers, and tlien by
placing my extended right hand below my lower lip
and moving it downward stopping in midway down
the chest, I indicate " beard," meaning .'ilexican ; and

^ See James, Expedition to tlie '■' Trans, lltlm. Soc. 18C9, vol. i.

liocky Mountain.^, vol. iii. p. 6'2. p. 283.

GESTURE LANGUAdE.

413

!o, or by

extent
peal . ig
f tribes,
J which
notlier ;
tiunicat-
iversinij
s -legged
rrobora-
Lit either
11. For
im if h
th three
. a man
-I point
en hold
e finger
roles by
I'crs to-
ove my

wheels
king an
i of my

cattle ;
lien by
wer lip
y down
n ; and

GO, vol. i.

with three fingers again, and passing my riglit and

from left to right in front of my foreliead, I i^Cicnte

"whi.i.' brow" or "paleface." I then hold w^ my

f(/re finger, meaning one man, and by placing tin; fore

finger of my left hand between the fore and second

finger of my right liand, representing a man astride

of a horse, and by moving my hands up and down,

give the motion of a horse galloping with a man on

bis back. 1 in this way -i^ ^he Indian, " You see

"six waggons, horned crUie, iree Mexicans, three

"Americans, one man c- h rseback ?" If he holds

np his fore finger and lowe ■ it quickly, as if he was

pointing at some obje o'^ the ground, he means

" Yes ; " if he moves it from side to side, upon the

principle that peoi)le sometimes move their head from

side to side, he means " Xo." The time required to

make these signs would be about the same as if you

asked the question verbally.' The Bushmen also are

said to intersperse their language with so many signs

that they are unintelligible in the dark, and, when they

want to converse at night are compelled to collect

round their camp fires. So also Burton tells us that

the Arapahos of North America, ' who possess a very

' scanty vocabulary, can hardly converse with one

' another in the dark ; to make a stranger understand

' them they must always rejiair to the camp fire for

' pow-wow."

Morgan mentions a case in which a couple who
had been marri;id three years, conversed entirely by
sisfns : the man beino; a blackfoot Indian, the woman an

' -.ity of the Saints, p. 151.

;l5

'ill.

TUI'J ORIGIN OF LAKGUACIE.

Ahahiiolin, and neither understanding a word of each
other's hinn-uaji^e.^

A very interesting account of the signdanguage,
especially with reference to that used by the deaf and
dumb, is contained in Tylor's ' Early History of Man.'
15ut althougli signs may serve to convey ideas in a
manner wliich would i)ro])ably surprise those wlio have
not studied this question ; still it must be admitted that
they are far inferior to the sounds of the voice ; which,
as already mentioned, are used for this purpose by all
the races of men with whom we are acquainted.

Language, as it exists among all but the lowest
races, jdthough far from perfect, is yet so rich in terms,
and possesses in its grammar so complex an organisation,
that we cannot wonder at tliose who have; attributed to
it a divine and miraculous origin. Nay, their view may
be admitted as correct, but only in that sense in which
a ship or a palace may be so termed : they are human
in so far as they have been worked out by man ; divine,
inasmuch as in doing so he has availed himself of the
powers which Providence has given him.''*

M. Kenan ^ draws a distinction between the orijrin
of words and that of language, and as regards the latter

• System of C'onsanguinity, p.

'^ Lord ]\Ii)nb()ddn, in conibatiii}?
tliose who regard language as a
revelation, expresses a hope that ho
will not, on that account , be supposed
to * pay no respect to the acconnt

* given in our sacred books of the
' origin of our species; but it dues not

* Iwlong to me,' he adds, * as a philo-

* soplier or grammarian, to enquire
' whether such account is to be under-

* stood allegorically, according to the
' opinions of some divines.' lie for-
gets, however, that those who regard
language as a miracle, do so in the
teeth of the express statement in
Gonesis that God bnnight the ani-
mals ' unto Adam to see what he

* would call them : and whatsoever
' Adam called every living creature,
' that was the name theieof.'

^ Ue rOrigine du Laugage, p.
10.

TIII'J OniiUN OF L.WaUAQE.

415

of each

igiia«rc,
-'af and
r Man.'
IS in a
10 have
ted that
wliich,
by all

lowest
terms,
isation,
ited to
w may
which
human
divine,
of the

orjii'in
; latter

iff to the
If e fol-
io re{,'ard
JO in the
ment in
the ani-
vhat he
fttsoever
n-eaturc,

fage, p.

says: 'Jc persiste done, apres dix ans de nouvellcs
' etudes, a cnvisai^er le Ian«i:a«j:e eomnie forme d'un seul

'o"r)'

' coup, et commc sorti instantanement du «^enie de
'chaque race,' a theory whicli involves that of the
plurality of human sjiecies. No doidjt the comi)lexity
and apparent perfection of the <^rammar amon«( very
low races, is at first sight very surprisingly ; l)ut we nuist
remember that tlie language of children is more regular
than ours. A child says, ' I gf)ed,' ' ^ jomed,' 'badder,'
' baddest,' &c. Moreover, the i)reservation of a compli-
cated system of granunar among savage tribes shows
tliat such a system is natural to them, and not merely a
survival from more civilised times. Indeed, we know
that the tendency of civilisation is towards the simplifi-
cation of grammatical forms.

Nor must it by any means be supposed that C(mi-
plexity implies excellence, or even completeness, in a
language. On the contrary, it often arises from a cum-
bersome mode of supplying some radical defect. Adam
Smith long ago pointed out that the verb ' to be ' is
' the most abstract and metaphysical of all verbs, and
' consequently could by no means be a word of early
' invention.' And he su^-oests that the absence of this
verb probably led to the intricacy of conjugations.
' When,' he jidds, ' it came to be invented, however, as
' it had all the tenses and modes of any other verb, by
'being jointed with the passive participle, it was capable
' of supplying the place of the whole passive voice, ;ind
'of rendering this part of their conjugations as sirnph;
' and uniform, as the use of prepositions had rcTidered
' their declensions.' ^ He goes on to point out that the

' Smitli's Moral Soutiniontfj, vol. ii. p. Il'O.

r I

h \

J /. L LA Xd UA ( /i-; nEliUClliLE

sainc remarks aj)[>ly also to ihc [Misscssivc vcrh ' I have,
wliioli aflc(.'tt'(l tlu! active voice, as [)roroun(lly as ' I am

indiieiu'cd the

pass

ive : tliiis, tlit'sc two verbs lu'twceu

tlu'in, wlion once suo-wstcd, ('na})l{Ml mankind to relieve;

•i-T)

tlieir memories, and thus unconsciously, but most
effectually, to simidify their grammar.

In Knglisli we carry tlie same princii>lc mueli fur-
ther, and not only use the auxiliary ver))s ' to have ' and
' to be,' l)ut also several others — as do, did ; will, would ;
shall, should ; can, could ; may, mioht.^ Adjuu Smith

liT that the verlj
th

was, However, mistaken ui supposm

tak(

' to be exists ' ni every language ; - on the contrary,
the complexity of the North American languages is in n
great measure due to its absence. The auxiliary verl)
' to be ' is entirely absent in most American languages,
and the conserpienee is that they turn almost all their
adjectives and nouns into verbs, and conjugate them^
through all the tenses, persons, and moods.'' According
to Dobritzhoffer the Abipones and Guaranis also want
the verb ' to have.' The Kaffir language a^so is stated by
Lichtenstcin to be deficient in auxiliary verbs. ' I am '
cannot be expressed in their language.

Again, the Esquimaux, instead of using adverbs,
conjugate the verb ; they have special terminations im-
l)lying ill, better, rarely, hardly, faithfully, &c.; hence
such a word as aglekkigiartorasuarniarpok, 'he goes
away hastily and exerts himself to write.' * Some at
least of the Dro^idian languages are also without

43:

' Smith's Moral Sentiments, p.

- Loc. cif. p. 420.

^ See Gallatin, Trans. Anier.

Antiq. Soc. vol. ii. p. 170. Hale,
U. S. Exp. Exp. p. 549.

' Crantz, His. of Greenland, vol.
i. p. 224.

' I have/
H ' T am '
l)('tweeu
:o relieve
ut most

inch fur-
nve ' and
I, would ;
,m Smitli
the verl)
contrary,
^es is in a
ary verl)
mguages,

all their

ite them,

ccording

.so "vvant
stated by

' I am '

adverbs,
ions im-
!.; hence
le goes
Some at
without

76. Hale,
eiiland, vol.

TO A FEW ROOT.WOJiDS.

417

the verbs Miave ' * be ' and also some Mantchou dia-
lects.^

In other cases the jframmatical forms are but few.
The language of Akra and Fantee, according to Wultke,'*
possesses only six conjunctions, no adverbs or preposi-
tions, only one sex, no comparative, and no passive
mood : that of the Hottentots is said to have contained
no auxiliary verbs.^

The Grebos, an African tribe, are said to mark
persons and tenses by gestures.*

The number of words in the lanffuaffes of civilised
races is no doubt immense. Chinese, for instance,
contains 40,000; Todd's edition of Johnson, 58,000;
Webster's Dictionary, 70,000 ; and Fliigel's more than
(J5,000.^ The great majority of these, however, can be
derived from certain original words, or roots which are
very few in number. In Chinese there are about 450,
Hebrew has been reduced to 500, and Midler doubts
whether there are more in Sanskrit. M. D'Orsey even
assures us that an ordinary agricultural labourer has
not 300 words in his vocabulary.

Professor Max Midler ^ observes, that ' this fact sim-
' plifies immensely the problem of the origin of lan-
' guage. It has taken away all excuse for those rap-
' turous descriptions of Ir^i guage which invariably
' preceded the argument that language must have a
' divine origin. We shall hear no mofj of that wonder-

' Ilovelacque, La Linguistique, ^ .Sci. of L. vol. i. p, 02.

pp. 119, 137. ' 'iafurday K<.'vi«\v, November 2,

' Ges. der Menschheit, vol. i. p. 18G1. Lectures ou Language, p.

158. 208.

3 Ijic'itcnstein, Travels in Soutli '^ T.oe. rit. p. .350.

Africa, vol. ii. p. 371.

' i

'I.

Di'

418

OBIQIN OF BOOT-WORDS.

* ful instrument which can express all we see, and hear,

* and taste, and touch, and smell ; which is the breath-

* ing image of the whole world ; which gives form to
' the airy feelings of our souls, and body to the loftiest

* dreams of our imagination ; which can arrange in
' accurate perspective the past, the present, and the
' future, and throw over everything the varying hues of
' certainty, of doubt, oi contingency.'

This, indeed, is no new view, but wr.s that generally
adopted by the philologists ol the last, century, and is
fully borne out by more recent researches.

In considering the origin of these root-words, we
must remember that most of them are very ancient, and
much won. by use. This greatly enhances the difficulty
of the problem.

Nevertheless, there are several large classes of words
with reference to the origin of which there can be no
doubt. Many names of animals, such as cuckoo, crow,
peewit, &c. are evidently derived from the sounds
made by those birds. Every one admits that such
words as bang, crack, creak, crush, crash, splash, dash,
purr, whizz, hum, &c. have arisen from the attempt ^o
represent sounds characteristic of the object they are
intendfid to designate.^

Take, again, the inarticulate human sounds — sob,
sigh, moan, groan, laugh, cough, weep, whoop, shriek,
yawn.

Or of animals ; as cackle, chuckle, gobble, quack,
twitter, chirp, coo, hoot, caw, croak, chatter, neigh,
whinny, mew, purr, bark, yelp, roar, bellow.

' Wedgwood, Introduction to also Wedgwood's Origin of Lan-
Dic. of English JOtymology. r.irrar, guage, which I rogrot I had not read
Origin of Ivaiiguagi', p. Si). See when tliis chaptci was writteji.

id hear,
breath-
brm to
loftiest
nge in
nd the
hues of

snerally
and is

rds, we
mt, and
ifficulty

f words
n be no
crow,

sounds
at such

, dash,
mpt to
ley are

s — sob,
shriek,

(juack,
neigh,

of Laii-
1 not rt'iui
tell.

ONOMATOrfElA

419

The collision of hard bodies ; clap, rap, tap, knap,
snap, trap, flap, slap, crack, smack, whack, thwack, pat,
bat, batter, beat, butt ; and again, clash, flash, plash,
splash, smash, dash, crash, bang, clang, twang, ring,
ding, din, bump, thump, plump, boom, hum, drum, liiss,
rustle, bustle, whistle, whisper, mm mur, babble, &c.

So also sounds denoting certain motions and actions ;
whirr, whizz, puff, fizz, fly, flit, flow, flutter, patter,
clatter, crackle, rattle, bubble, guggle, dabble, grabble,
draggle, dripple, rush, shoot, shot, shut, &c.

Many words for cutting, and the objects cut, or
used for cutting, &c., are obviously of similar origin.
Thus we have the sound sh — r with each of the vowels ;
share, a part cut off ; shear, an instrument for cutting ;
shire, a division of a country ; shore, the division be-
tween land and sea, or as we use it in Kent, between
two fields ; a shower a number of separate particles ;
again, scissors, scythe, saw, scrape, shard, scale, shale,
shell, shield, skull, schist shatter, scatter, scar, scoop,
score, scrape, scratch, scum, scour, scurf, surf, scuttle
sect, shape, sharp, shave, sheaf, shed, shoal, shred, split,
splinter, splutter, &c.

Another important class of words is evidently
founded "on the sounds by which we naturally express
our feelings. Thus from Oh ! Ah ! the instinctive cry
of pain, we get woe, vai (Latin), \vail, ache, dxo<s, Gr.

From the deep guttural sound ugh, we have ugly,
huo-e, and hu";.

From pr, or prut, indicating contempt, or self-con-
ceit, comes proud, pride, &c.

From lie, we have fiend, foe, feud, f(jul, Latin pi'tris,
Fr. ])uer, lilth, fulsome, fear.

f .

r, i;

■i;^

:-%

l\i

h'i

SM..

420 WE AH AND TEAR OF WORDS.

From that of smackinnj the lips, we get yXuKu?,
dulcis, lick, like, which though origiually no doubt ap-
plied to things eaten, is now used generally. Turner
mentions that on presenting some hatchets to the natives
of Tauna, they ' smacked their lips, and made their
' usual click, click with the mouth shut, in admiration of
' the fine new hatchets.' ^

Under these circumstances I cannot but think that
we may look upon the words above mentioned as the
still recognisable descendants of roots which were
onomatopoeic in tlieir origin ; and I am glad to see that
Professor Max Miiller, in his second series of lectures
on language,'^ wishes to be understood as offering no
opposition to this theory, although for the present
'satisfied with considering roots as phonetic types.'

It may be said, and said truly, that other classes of
ideas are not so easily or naturally expressible by corre-
sponding sounds ; and that abstract terms seldom have
any such obvious derivation. We must remember,
however, firstly, that abstract terms are wanting in the
lowest languages ; and, secondly, that most words are
greatly worn by use, and altered by the difference of
pronunciation. Even among the most advanced races
a few centuries suffice to produce a great change ; how,
then, can we expect that any roots (excepting those
which are preserved from material alteration by the
constant suggestion of an obvious fitness) should have
retained their original sound throughout the immense
period which has elapsed since the origin ji language ?
^Moreover, every one ^aIio has paid any attention to

' Nineteen Years in Polyne.-ia, p. 06.
* Loc. cit. p. 112.

NICKNAMES AND SLANG TERMS.

421

ykvKVf;,

ubt ap-
Turner
natives
le their
ation of

nk that
I as the
3h Avere
see that
lectures
ring no
present
es.'

asses of
y corre-
al have
lember,
in the
rds are
ence of
I races
; how,
;• those
by the
1(1 have

nmense
u^uaffe ?
tion to

children, or schoolboys, must have observed how nick-
names, often derived from sliglit and even fanciful
characteristics, are seized on and soon adopted by
general consent. Hence even if root- words had re-
mained with little alteration, we should still be often
puzzled to account for their origin.

Without, then, supposing with Farrar that all our
root- words have originated from onomatopoeia, I believe
that they arose in the same way as the nicknames and
new slang terms of our own day. These we know Jire
often selected from some similarity of sound, or connec-
tion of ideas often so quaint, fimciful, or far-fetched,
that we are unable to recall tlie true orii>in even of
words which have arisen in our own time. IIov,, then,
can we wonder that the derivations of root- words which
are thousands of years old should be in so many cases
lost, or at least undeterminable with certainty ?

Again, the words most frequently required, and
especially those used by children, are generally repre-
sented by the sin.plest and easiest sounds, merely
because they are the simplest. Tluis in iMU'ope we
\u,ve papa and daddy, mamma, and baby ; poupee for a
doll ; amme for a nurse, &c. Some authorities, indeed,
have derived Pater and Papa from a root Pa to cherish,
and Mater, Mother, from Ma to make ; this derivation
is accepted by writers representing the most op])osite
theories, as for instance by Pictet, iJenan, Miiller,
Whitney, and even ap})arently Ijy Farrar.

According to Professor Max Miiller, the fact that
' tlie name father was coined at that early peri(jd, sliowii
' that the father acknowled<>'ed the ofl's])rin<2: of his wife
' as his own, for thus only had he a riglit lo claim the

i ■' ^

422 OniOIN OF THE TERMS FATHER AND MOTHER.

' title of flitlier. Father is derived from a root l*a,
' wliicli means, not to beget but to protect, to support,
' to nourish. The father, as genitor, was called in
' Sanskrit ganitdr, but as protector and supporter of his
' offspring he was called pitar : hence, in the Veda,
' these two names are used together, in order to express
' the full idea of Father. Thus the poet says : —

Dyaus me peta genita
Jovis moi Dater genitor
Zeyy sfiov Trarrjp ysvsrtjp.

' In a similar manner matar, mother, is joined with
' ganitfi, genitrix, which shows that the word matar
' must soon have lost its etymological meaning, and
' have become an expression of respect and endearment.
' For among the early Arians, matar had the sense of
' maker, from Ma, to fashion.' ^

Now let us see what are the names for father and
mother among some other races, omitting all languages
derived from Sanskrit.''^

1 i.

AFRICA

Language

Father

Filham

Papai

Bola (N. W. Africa)

Papa

Sarar

Paba

Pepel

Papa

Biafada

Bub'

Baga

Bapa

Tirane

Mother

Inya^

Nana

INIann

Kara

'■yf'4

1^ /:

»i

' Comparotive Mythology. Ox-
ford Essays, 1850, p. 14.

' When this was written, and
tlie following talilo was comniled, I
iiad not seen Professor liuschman's
paper on the same subject, contained

in the Trans, of the Berlin Academy
for 1852, and translated uy Mr.
Clarke in the Proc. of the Philolo-
gical Soc. vol. vi.

•'' Koelle's Polyglotta Africana.

OTUEIi.

WORDS FOR FATHER AMf MOTHER.

1.2:3

oot l*u,
iipport,
tiled in
r of his
V^eda,
express

;d with
I matar
ig, and
arment.
ense of

ler and

.guages

Academy
Ity Mr.
Philolo-

ricana.

Language

Fat/nr

yfnfk' r

Mandenga

Kfibunga

Toronka

»»

Dsalunka

»»

Kankanka

Bambara

Kono

Nde

Vei

Hoso

Fafe

Nga

Kisekise

»»

Ter.e

Fafa

Dewoi (Guinea)

JMa

Basa

5»

Gbe

Dahome

Noe

Mahi

„ also Dadye

Ota

Baba

lya

Egba

»»

Idsesa

>»

Yoruba

Yagba

»»

Eki

»»

Dsumu

»»

Oworo

»<

»>

Dsel,-;.

<«

Ife

>»

Yeye

Ondo

Moje (High Sudan)

H»

Gurma

Sobo (Niger District)

Wawa

Nene

Udso

Dada

Ayo

Nupe

Nda

Nna

Kupa

D:.da

Esitako

Musu

N'ta

Meya

Basa

Nno

Opanda

Ada

Onyi

Igu

(Jnya

L-.'P

;|-

4-24

IF07iD>S FOR FATHER AND MOTHER

La»(/U(it/e

¥.ghirn

Biiduma (Central Africa)

Bornu

Munio

Nguru

Kanem

Karehare

Ngodsin

Doai

Basa

Kamuku

Songo (S. W. Africa)

Kiriman (S. E. Africa)

Bidsogo

Wun

Gadsaga

Gura

Banyurr

Nalu

Bulanda

Li mba

Landoma

Barba

Timbuktu

Bagrmi

Kadzina

Tiiubo

Salum

Gobiirii

Kano

Yala

Dsarawa

Koro

Yasgua

Kambali

8o;i (Arabic group)

Wadai

Father

Mothr

Ada

< )ny{i

Bawa

Aba

Bawa

lya

Mba

Baba

Nana

Aye

Ada

Baba

Bina

Papa

]Mama

Baba

Mma

Ondsunei

Baba

Omsion

iAIa

Nye

Aba

Aai

Baba

Nya

Papa

JNIama

Baba

Inya

Nya

Babi

Kunyun

Baba

Nene

Yuma

Iiina

Ina

Ada

Ene

Tada

Nga

Oda

Ada

Auia

Dada

( )mo

Aba

Aye

Al)ba

Oiiima

VARIOUS LANG

UAGES.

I'J.')

Language

Father

MotJicr

Malenba

Tata

Mamma'

Embomma

Taata

]Maina

Kaffir

Ubaba

Uniame*

•^ M

NON-ARYAN NATIONS OF EUROPE AND ASIA.'

Turkish

Baba

Ana

Georgian

jNIanui

Deda

Mantshu

Ania

Erne

Javanese

Bapa

Ibu

Malay

Ma^

Syami (Thibet)

Dhada

»j

Thibetan

Pha

Ama

Serpa (Nepal)

Aba

Murmi

A pa

Amma

Pakhya

Babai

Ama

Lepcha (Sikkim)

Abo

A mo

Bhutan!

Appa

Dhimal (N. E. Bengal)

Aba

Ama

Kocch

Bap

Garo

Aba

Ama

Burman (Burmah)

Ahpa

Ami

Mru

Sak

Aba

Anu

Talaiu (Siam)

Ho (Central India)

Appu

Engu

Santhali

Baba

Ayo

Uraon „

Babe

Ayyo

Gayeti „

Baba

Dai

Khond

Abba

Ayya

Tuluva (Southern India)

Amme

Appe

Badaga „

Appa

Awe

Irula „

Amina

Awe

■•'i

^ Tuckey'* Narrative. Languages of India, &c.

^ Morgan, Systems of Consan- * Crawford's Malay Dictionary

euuiitv.

and Grammar.

Hunter, I>ic. of Nnn-Arvan

' i'

1.1 1' ,f

42r,

wnnns for fatiieh and mother

Lanffuaffc

Fa(h(r

Mother

Cinghalf'so

Appa

Amma

Chinese

Karen

Mo'

ISLANDERS.

Kingsmili

Tama

Mama

New Zealand

Pa-Matuatana

Matua wahina

Tonga Islands

Tamny

Fae

Erroob (N. Australia)

Bab

Ama

Lewis' iNFiirray Island

Baab

Hammah

AUSTRALIA.

.Tajowrong (N. W. Austri

ilia

) Mannook

Barbook

Knenkorenwurro „

Marniak

Barpanorook

Burapper „

Marmook

Barbook

Taungurong „

Warredoo

Barbanook,

J^oraipar (8. Australia)

Murmme

Parppe

INIurrumbidgee

Kunny

Mamma

Western Australia

Mammun

Ngangan

Port Lincoln

Pappi

M.^itya

ESQUIMAUX.

Esquimaux (Hudson's Bay)

At at a

Amama

Tshnktnhi CAsia^

Atta

The American languages seem at first sight opposed
to the view here suggested ; on close examination, How-
ever, this is not the case, since the pronunciation of the
labials is very difficult to many American races. Thus
La Hontan (who is confirmed by Gallatin ^) informs us
that the Hurons do not use the labials, and that he
spent four days in attempting without success to teach
a Huron to pronounce b, p, and m. The Iroquois are

• Morgan, Sys. of Consanguinity.

• Trano. Am. Antiq. Soc. vol. i. p. 236.

17 ■■V' \J^ »

T\ VAh'fOUS I.AXaiJA ,'i-:s.

[■2\

stated not to use lubials, riairilusso de la W'ga tells
us that the Peruvian lan;i:ua!''e wanted tlie letters b, d»
t', g\ s, and X ; I), d, f, «»;, r, and s in A /tec ; ' and the
Indians of I'ort au Fran(;ais, aeeordin^* to M. Lanianon,
made no us(> of the consonants b, d, 1", j, |>, v. or x.''^
Still, even in America we find some cases in which the
sounds for father resetnble those so jii^eneral elsi; where ;
thus —

LanijiUKj

Father

Mother

i\)stanos ( N.

. America)

Ah Pah

All nah

'l^hukli

Apa

!•»

Tkwskanai

Mama

Naa

N'asqually

Baa

>S( )^< >

Xootha (X. W.

America)

Api

Una

Athapascans

anada)

Appa

Unuungcool

Omahas (Mi

ssouri)

Dadai

Eehon^

Minnetarees

Tantai

Keka

Choctas (Mit

■isissipi)

Amikke

Iskeh

Caribs

Baba

Bibi

(Juichua

Yaya

Mama

Uainamben (

'Amazons)

Pai

Ami

Cobeii

>»

Ipaki

Ipako

Tucano

j»

Pagui

Maou

Tariana

»>

Paica

Naca

Baniwa

Padjo

Nadjo

Barre

Mbaba

Mcmi

Muysea.

Paba

Guuira

Finding, then, that the easiest sounds which a child
can produce denote father and mother almost all over
the world ; remembering that the root ba or pa indi-
cates baby as well as father ; that in various parts of
the world the roots ' pa ' and ' ma ' denote other near
rdationships ; and observing that in some cases the

( - .

. 1

' 'i\

' Wuttke's Ges. der Monscli. vol. i. p. 270. '^ rjallntin, loc. cit. p. 63.

ill

I i

428

THE CnOLGE OF liOOT-WORhS.

u«iuil sounds an; reversed ; as for instance* i»> Georgian,
where manuna stands for father, and dada for mother ;
or in Tuluva, where aninie is father, and appe mother ;
in Chilian, wliere ' pa})a ' means motlier ; in Thitskanai,
wlierc 'mama* stands for fatlier ; in Madurese again,
'mama* means futhei", ' ambu * or ' babu ' motlier; or
some of the Australian tribes, in which conibinati(jns of
the sound mar stand for father, and bar for mother ; we
nuist surely admit that the Sanskrit verb l*a, to protect,
comes from pa, father, and not vici' versi).

There are few more interesting studies than the
steps by which our present language has been derived
from these original roots. This subject has been ad-
mirably dealt with by my friend Professo. ]\Iax Miiller
in his ' Lectures on Language,' and, tempting as it
would be to do so, I do not propose to follow him into
that part of the science. As regards the formation of
the original roots, however, he declines to express any
o})inion. Rejecting what he calls the pooh-pooh and
bow-wow theories^ (though they are in reality but
one), he observes that ' the theory which is suggested
' to us by an analysis of language carried out according
' to the principles of comparative philology, is the very
' opposite. We arrive in the end at roots, and every
' one of these expresses a general, not an individual
' idea.' But the whole question is, How were these roots
chosen ? How did particular things cc 3ae to be denoted
by particular sounds?

Here, however, Professor Max Midler stops. No-
thing, he admits,^ 'would be more interesting than to
' know from historical documents the exact process by

' Science of Langiia<re, p. 373. '^ Loc. cit. p. 340.

Tin-: cjioiri: of uooT-wnnhs.

4>2'.>

wliidi \\w, fii'Ht man br^'-an to lisp liis first words, and
thus to 1)0 rid for ever of all the tlit^ories on tlio oriuiu
of s[)occli. l)iit this kn(»wl(!d;4'(i is donicil us ; and, if
it had boon othorwiso, wo should probably bo (piito
unable to understand those primitive events in the
history of tbi- human mind.'

Yet in his last ohapter he says,' 'And now I am
afraid I liave but a few minutes loft to explain the
hist question of all in our soience, namely, How oan
sound express tiiouu;ht? How did roots become the
siijns of <i:enerMl ideas? How was the abstraet idea of
measuriu<if expressed by ma, the idea of thinking"
by man? J low did \f[\ come to mean •j:oinf,'', stha
standing', sad sitting, dj\ giving, mar dying, ohar
walking, kar doing? I sball try to answer as briefly
as possible. The 400 or 500 roots which remain as
the constituent elements in different families of lan-
guage are not interjections, nor are they imitations.
Tliey are phonetic types produced by a power inherent
in human nature. They exist, as IMato would say, by
nature ; though with Plato we should add that, when
we say by nature, we mean by the hand of TJod.
There is a law which runs through nearly the whole
of nature, that everything which is struck rings. . . .
Man, in his primitive and perfect state, was not only
endowed, like the brute, with the power of expressing
his sensations by interjections, and his perceptions by
onomatopoeia. He ])ossessod likewise the faculty of
giving more articulate expression to the natural con-
ceptions of his mind. That faculty was not of his
niakinir. It was an instinct, an instinct of the mind

Luv. cif. \). 3S(i.

<
^

VijP.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

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23 WIST MAIN STRUT

WnSTU.N.Y. )4SM

(7l*)l7a-4S03

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rnVKRTY OF SlVAGl': LAXGUAOES.

, /

I ^

* as irresistible as any other instinct. So far as lan-

* guage is the production of that instinct, it belongs to
' the realm of nature.'

This answer, though expressed with Professor Max
Miiller's usual eloquence, does not carry to my mind
any definite conception. On the other hand, it appears
to me that at any rate, as regards some roots, we
have, as already pointed out, a satisfactory explanation.
Professor Max Midler,^ indeed, admits that ' there arc

* some names, such as cuckoo, which are clearly formed

* by an imitation of sound. But,' he adds, ' words of
' this kind are, like artificial flowers, without a root.

* They are sterile, and are unfit to express anything

* beyond the one object which they imitate. If you
' remember the variety of derivatives that could be
' formed from the root spac, to see, you will at on^e

* perceive the difference between the fabrication of such

* a word as cuckoo, and the true natural growth of
' words.' It has, however, been already shown that
such roots, far from being sterile, are, on the contrary,
very fruitful, and we must remember that savage lan-
guages are extremely poor in abstract terms.

Indeed, the vocabularies of the various races arc
most interesting from tlie indications wliich they afford
with reference to the condition of those by whom tluy
are used. Thus we get a melancholy idea of the moral
state and family life of tribes which are deficient in
terms of endearment. Colonel Dalton'-^ tells us that the
IIos of Central India have no 'endearing epithets.'
The Algonquin langungc, one of the richest in North
America, contained no verb ' to love,' and when KUiot

'repl

' Stioiico nl' iiiuijnajj;*', p. uU-'J. - Tniiis. ]'^tliii.!S(ie. N.8. vol. vi. p. 1?7.

DEFIGIENCY IN TERMS OF AFFECTION. 431

translated the Bible into it in 1661, he was obliged to
coin a word for the purpose. The Tinn^ Indians on
the other side of the Rocky Mountains hml no equi-
valent for * dear * or ' beloved.' ' I endeavoured,' says
General Lefroy, ' to put this intelligibly to Nanette, by
' supposing such an expression as ma ch^re femme ; ma
'chfere fiUe. When at length she understood it, her
' reply was (with great emphasis), " I' disent jamais qa;

* " i' disent ma femme, ma iSlle." ' The Kalmucks and
some of the South Sea Islanders are said to have had
no word for * thanks.' Lichtenstein,* speaking of the
Bushmen, mentions it as a remarkable instance of the
total absence of civilisation among them that ' they
' have no names, and seem not to feel the want of such

* a means of distinguishing one individual from another.'
Pliny ^ makes a similar statement concerning a race in
Northern Africa. Freycinet'^ also asserts that some of
the Australian tribes did not name their women. I
confess that I am inclined to doubt these statements,
and to refer the supposed absence of names to tlie
curious superstitions already referred to (mite, p. 213),
and which make savages so reluctant to communicate
their true names to strangers. The lirazilinn tribes,
according to Spix and Martius, had separate names for
the different parts of the body, and for all the different
animals and plants with whicli they were acquaintod,
but were entirely deficient in such terms as ' colour,'
' tone,' ' sex,' ' genus,' ' spirit,' ^c.

l^ailey ^ mentions that the language of the N'eddahs

■Hi

' Vol. i. p. 11»; vol. ii. p. 40.
' Nat. Hist. 1. V. p. viii.
■T Vol. ii. p. 74lt.

' Tmiis. Mtliii. Soc. N.S. vol. ii.
]). 20H ; wo also p. .'{00.

■\

' W'

\ )

11
I

(

II f :
' I

(

432

ABSENCE OF ABSTRACT TERMS.

(Ceylon) * is very limited. It only contains such
' phrases as are required to describe the most striking

* objects of nature, and those which enter into the daily
' life of the people themselves. So rude and primitive
' is their dialect that the most ordinary objects and

* actions of life are described by quaint periphrases.'

* In Kocch, Bodo, and Dhimal there is not a single

* vernacular word to express matter, spirit, space,
'instinct, reason, consciousness, quantity, degree, or

* the like.' ^ Among the Bongo of Central Africa words
for ' abstract ideas, such as spirit, soul, hope, fear,
'appear to be absolutely wanting, but experience
' shows that in this respect other negro tongues are not
' more richly provided.' ^

According to missionaries the Fuegians had *no

* abstract terms.' In the North American languages a
term ' sufficiently general to denote an oak-tree is ex-
'ceptional.' Thus, the Choctaw language has names
for the black oak, white oak, and red oak, but none for
an oak, still less for a tree.

The Tasmanians, again, had no general term for a
tree, though they had names for each particular kind ;
nor could they express ' qualities such as hard, soft,

* warm, cold, long, short, round,' &c.

Speaking of the Coroados (Brazil), Martins observes
that ' it would be in vain to seek among them words for
' the abstract ideas of plant, animal, and the still more
' abstract notions colour, tone, sex, species, &c. ; such a
' generalisation of ideas is found among them only in

' Essay on the Koccli, Bodo, and nals of Rtiral Benpal, p. 113.
Dhimal 'J'rihos, hy IJ. II. Hodgson, ' Schweinfurth's Heart of Africa,

l^sq., p. ii. See also Hunter's An- vol. i. p. 311.

same
•rrcv

ricn,

THE SEXSE OF COLOUR.

433

* the frequently used infinitive of the verbs to walk, to
'eat, to drink, to dance, to see, to hear, &c. They
' liave no conception of the general powers and laws of
' nature, and therefore cannot express them in words.' '
It is remarkable that barbarous races are oft(»n deficient
in terms denoting colours.

Nor is this the case with the lower races (-nly. The
colour of grass and foliage is scarcely alludeci to in the
Vedas or the Zendavesta. The most ancient Indian sacred
book, the Rigveda, though, as Geiger has pointed out,^
containing 10,000 lines, and consisting principally of
hymns to heaven, does not contain the word ' blue' or
' green ; ' nor are these colours mentioned in the old Per-
sian sacred writings — the Zendavesta. The word ' blue '
is also absent from the earlier books of the Old Testament,
the Koran and the writings of Homer, although in the for-
mer the heaven is mentioned no less than 450 times. The
Greeks and Romans in ancient times appear indeed to
have had no word for ' blue.' Kvavoq, which subsequently
acquired the meaning, in Homer always stands for
' black ' ; and cocruleus appears originally to liave hud the
same meaning, and to have gradually passed through
' grey ' to ' blue.' Indeed our own word * blue ' is similarly
connected with ' bleach ' and ' ])lack.' So also the ancient
words for green and yellow seem to hav<' been used
almost as equivalents. It is moreover remarkable that
both Aristotle and Xenophanes speak of the rainbow as
composed of three colours — purple, yellow, and green.

Some eminent authorities consider that this curious
fact arises from a want of the power of perceiving cer-

' 8j'..x and Marlins, Travels in ■* Zur llniw. dt»r MunscbliiMt,

Brazil, vol. ii. p. 2o'<i. p. 4(1.

F V

^ i\

^'l

V '

"■-.HI

434

DEFIOIENCY IN NUMERALS.

: '

tain colours, a view which seems to me quite inad-
missible.

There is, perhaps, no more interesting part of the
study of language than that which concerns the system
of numeration, nor any more striking proof of the low
mental condition of many savage races than the un-
doubted fact that they are unable to count their own
fingers, even of one hand.

According to Lichtenstein, the Bushmen could not
count beyond two. Spix and Martius make the eame
statement about the Brazilian Wood-Indians. The na-
tives of Erroob and some of the Cape Yorkers of Aus-
tralia count as follows : —

One

Netat.

Two

Naes.

Three

Naes-netat.

Four

Naes-naes.

Five

Naes-naes-netat.

Six

Naes-naes-naes

Other Cape Yorkers have words for 1, 2 and 3,
while for four they say Ungatua, i.e. the whole (hand
being understood).^

Speaking of the Lower Murray nations, Mr. Beve-
ridge says, * Their numerals are confined to two alone,

* viz. " ryup," " politi," the first signifying " one " and

* the second " two." To express five, they say " ryup
' "mumangin," or one hand, and to express ten, "politi
' " murnangin," or two hands.' * Indeed, the Australians
can hardly be said to go beyond four, their term for five
simply implying a large number. The Dammaras, accord-

■ QUI, Life in the Southern Iflles, vol, vi. p. 161. Lang, Queensland,
p. 226. p. 433.

• Trans, of the R. S. of Victoria,

ins
ive

ind,

SAVAGE DIFFICULTIES IN ARITHMETIC. 435

ing to Galton, used no term beyond three. He gives so
admirable and at the same time so amusing an account of
Dammara difficulties in lanjjuance and arithmetic that I
cannot resist quoting it in full. * We had,' he says,^ * to

* trust to our Dammara guides, whose ideas of time and

* distance were most provokingly indistinct ; besides this

* they have no comparative in their language, so that

* you cannot say to them, " Which is the longer of the

* " two, the next stage or the last one ? " but you must
' say, " The last is little ; the next is it great ? " The

* reply is not. It is a " little longer," or " very much
' " longer," but simply, " It is so," or " It is not so."
' When inquiries are made about how many days* jour-
' ney off a place may be, their ignorance of all numeri-

* cal ideas is very annoying. In practice, whatever they

* may possess in their language, they certainly use no

* numeral greater than three. When they wish to ex-
' press four, they take to their fingers, which are to
' them as formidable instruments of calculation as a sli-

* ding rule is to an English schoolboy. They puzzle

* very much after five, because no spare liand remains
' to grasp and secure the fingers that are required for

* units. Yet they seldom lose oxen ; the way in which
' they discover the loss of one is not by the number of
' the herd being diminished, but by the absence of a
' face they know. When bartering is going on, each

* sheep must be paid for separately. Thus, suppose two

* sticks of tobacco to be the rate of exchange for one
' sheep, it would sorely puzzle a Dammara to take two
' sheep and give him four sticks. I have done so, and
' seen a man put two of the sticks apart, and take a

' Ortlton'B Tropical South AfricH, p. 213.
Fr2

. ' 1

: (

436 SAVAGE DIFFICULTIES IN ABITHMETIG.

i ;

Vfl

■:

sight over them at one of the sheep he wjis ahout to
sell. Having satisfied himself that that one was
honestly paid for, and finding to his surprise that
exactly two sticks remained in hand to settle the
account for the other sheep, he would he afflicted with
doubts ; the transaction seemed to come out too " pat "
to be correct, and he would refer back to the first
couple of sticks ; and then his mind got hazy and con-
fused, and wandered from one sheep to the other, and
he broke off the transaction until two sticks were put
into his hand, and one sheep driven away, and then
the other two sticks given him, and the second sheep
driven away. When a Dammara's mind is bent upon
number, it is too much occupied to dwell upon quan-
tity ; thus a heifer is bought from a man for ten sticks
of tobacco, his large hands being both spread out upon
the ground, and a stick placed upon each finger. He
gathers up the tobacco, the size of the mass pleases
him, and the bargain is struck. You then want to
buy a second heifer ; the same process is gone through,
but half sticks instead of whole sticks are put upon
his fingers ; the man is equally satisfied at the time,
but occasionally finds it out, and complains the next
day.

' Once while I watched a Dammara flounderins:
hopelessly in a calculation on one side of me, 1 ob-
served Dinah, my spaniel, equally embarrassed on the
other. She was overlooking half a dozen of her new-
born puppies, which had been removed two or three
times from her, and her anxiety was excessive, as she
tried to find out if they were all present, or if any

Shi

were still missing.

kept puzzling and runniuL--

OniGTN OF THE DECIMAL SYSTEM.

437

'her eyes over them, backwards and forwards, but

* could not satisfy herself. She evidently had a vague

* notion of counting, but the figure was too large for
'her brain. Taking the two as they stood, dog and

* Damniara, the comparison reflected no great honour
' on the man.'

All over the world the fingers are used as counters ;
and although the numerals of most races are so worn
down by use that we can no longer detect their original
meaning, there arc many savage tribes in which the
words used are merely the verbal expressions of the
signs used in counting with the fingers.

Of this I have just given one instance. In Labrador
' Tallek,' a hand, means also ' five,' and the term for
twenty means hands and feet together.

So also the Esquimaux of Greenland* for twenty
say 'a man ; that is, as many fingers and toes as a man

* has ; and then count as many fingers more as are
' above the nurabir ; consequently, instead of 100, they
' say five men. Hut the generality are not such

* learned arithmeticians, and therefore when the num-
ber is above twenty, they say ''it is innumerable."
The number 8 is ' tliree on the other hand,' and 24 ' four
' on the second man.' So also among the Kolusches the
word for twenty is the hka, literally ' one nuin ; ' for
forty, tach hka, ' two men.' ^

Speaking of the Ahts, Mr. Sproat ^ says, ' It may be
' noticed that their word for one occurs again in that
' for six and nine, nn<l the word for two is t'uat for

' Crantz, Tlisl. of Greenland, vol. 1871, p. 217.
i. p. 225. ' Scenes and Studies of Savnge

" Krman. Zeit. f. Ethnolojrie, Life, p. 121.

■■•I

.- i

: t

438

USE OF THE FINGERS IN ARITHMETIQ

' seven and eight. The Aht Indians count upon their

* fingers. They always count, except where they have

* learnt differently from their contact with civilisation,

* by raising the hands with the palms upwards, and
'extending all the fingers, and bending down each

* finger as it is used for enumeration. They begin

* with the little finger. This little finger, then, is one.
' Now six is five (that is, one whole hand) and one

* more. We can easily see, then, why their word for

* six comprehends the word for one. Again, seven is
' five (one wliole hand) and two more — thus their

* word for seven comprehends the word for two.

* Again, when they have bent down the eighth finger,
*the most noticeable feature of the hand is that two

* fingers, that is, a finger and a thumb, remain ex-

* tended. Now the Aht word for eight comprehends

* atlah, the word for two. The reason for this I
' imagine to be as follows : — Eight is ten (or the whole

* hands) wanting two. Again, when the ninth finger

* is down, only one finger is left extended. Their
' word for nine comprehends tsowwauk, the word for
' one. Nine is ten (or two whole hands) wanting
' one.' * So again among the Pit River Indians 9
means literally ' pretty near 10.' *

The Zamuca and Muysca Indians ^ have a cumbrous,
but mteresting, system of numeration. For five they
say, * hand finished.' For six, * one of the other hand ; '
that is to say, take a finger of the other hand. For ten
they say, * two hands finished,' or sometimes more simply

*is
*be

*ab

* Scenes and Studies of Savage
Life, pp. 121, 122.

' Powers, Cont. to Amer. Ftbn.

vol. iii. p. 273.

» Humboldt's Personal
searches, vol. ii. p. 117.

Re-

AS SHOWN IN THE NAMES OF NUMERALS. 439

■i'

* quicha,' that is * foot.' Eleven is foot-one ; twelve,
foot-two ; thirteen, foot-three, and so on : twenty is the
feet finished ; or in other cases * Man,' because a man
has ten fingers and ten toes, thus making twenty.

Among the Jaruroes the word for forty is * noeni

* pume ; ' i.e. two men, firom noeni, two, and canipune,
men.

Speaking of the Guiana natives, Mr. Brett observes *
that * another point in which the different nations agree

* is their method of numeration. The first four num-

* bers are represented by simple words, as in the table
'above given. Five is "my one hand," abar-dakabo

* in ArawUk. Then comes a repetition, abar timen^

* biam timen^ &c., up to nine. Biam-dakabo, " my two

* " hands," is ten. From ten to twenty they use the

* toes (kuti or okuti), as abar-kuti-bana, " eleven " biam-

* kuti-banaj " twelve," &c. They call twenty abar-loko,
'one hko or man. They then proceed by men or

* scores ; thus, forty-five is laboriously expressed by
' biam-loko-ahar-dakabo tajeagOj " two men and one

* " hand upon it." For higher numbers they have now
'recourse to our words hundred and thousand.^ So
also among the Caribs, the word for 'ten,' Chonnoucabo
raim, meant literally * the fingers of both hands ; ' and
that for 'twenty' was Chonnougouci raim, i.e. the
fingers and toes.'

The Coroados^ generally count only by the joints of
the fingers, consequently only to three. Every greater
number they express by the word ' mony.'

* Brett's Indian Tribes of Guiana,
p. 417.

• Tertre's History of the Caribby

Islands.

' Spix and Martius, Travels in
Brazil, vol. ii. p. 265.

- i

440

USE OF THE FINOERS IN ARITHMETIC

, \[

Accordinj^ to Dobritzlioft'er ' the Guarunies, when

* questioned res|>ecting a thmg exceeding four, iranie-

* diately reply ndipapuhabi, udipapahai, innumerable.' '
So also the Abipones '^ can only express three numbers

* in proper words : Initdraj one, Inoaka, two, Inoaka

* yekaini, three. They make up for the other numbers

* by various arts ; thus, geymk natt', the fingers of an

* emu, which, as it has three in front and one turned

* back, are four, serves to express that number : neen-

* halek, a beautiful skin spotted with five different

* colours, is used to signify the number five.* ' Ilandni.

* hgem^ the fingers of one hand, means five ; landm

* luhiyem, the fingers of both hands, ten ; landiu rihcye/n

* cat (jracherhaka unaniicluriheyem the fingers of both

* hands and both feet, twenty.*

Among the Malays and throughout Polynesia the
word for five is ima, lima, or rima. In Bila, lima also
means a hand ; this is also the case in the Bugis, Mand-
har, and Ende languages : in the Makasar dialect it is
liman, in Sasak it is ima, in Bima it is rima, in Sem-
bawa it is limang.^ In Ellice's Islands 10 is ' katua '
= ' all,' i.e. all the fingers.*

In the Mpongwe language ' tyani ' or ' tani ' is five,
*ntyame' is ' hand. '^ The Koossa Kaffirs make little
use of numerals. Lichtenstein could never discover
that they had any word for eight, few could reckon
beyond ten, and many did not know the names of any
numerals. Yet if a single animal was missing out of a

' History of the Abipones, vol.
ii. p. 171.

" Loc. cit. p. 109.

'^ Kafiles's History of Java, Ap-
pendix F.

* Gill, Myths of the South Pacific,
p. 320.

* Oramniar of the Mpongwe Lan-
guage. 1847.

. t !

AS SHOWN IN THE NAMES OF NUMERALS. 441

herd of several hundred, they observed it immediately.*
This, however, as Mr. Galton explains, is merely
because they miss a face they know. Among the Zulu,
' tatitisupa,' six, means literally ' take the thumb ; ' i.e.,
having used the fingers of ont hand, take the thumb
of the next. ' The numbers,' says Lichtenstein, ' arc
' commonly expressed among the Beetjuans by fingers
* held up. so that the word is rarely spoken ; many are
' even unacquainted with these numerals, and never
'employ anything but the sign. It therefore occa-
' sioned me no small trouble to learn the numerals,
' and I could by no means arrive at any denomination
'for the numbers five and nine. 15eyond ten even
' the most learned could not reckon, nor could I make
' out by what signs they ever designated these higher
' numbers.'^

Even in our own language the word ' five ' has a
similar origin, since it is derived from the Greek wevTc,
which again is evidently connected with the Persian
pendji ; now in Persian ' pentcha ' means a hand, as
Humboldt has already pointed out.^

Hence, no doubt, the prevalence >f the decimal sys-
tem in arithmetic ; it has no particular advantage ; in-
deed, either eight or twelve would, in some respects,
have been more convenient ; eight, because you can
divide it by two, and then divide the result again by
two ; and twelve, because it is divisible by six, four,
three, and two. Ten, however, has naturally been
selected, because we have ten fingers.

:■ t:i

T , I

' Lichtenstein, vol. i. p. 280. See ' Personal Resoavches, London,

also App. 1814, vol. ii. p. 110.

* Loc. cit. vol. ii. App.

PROGRESS IN ARITHMETIC.

These examples, then, appear to me very instructive ;
we seem as it were to trace up the formation of the
numerals j we perceive the true cause of the decimal
system of notation ; and we ohtain interesting, if melan-
choly, evidence of the extent to which the faculty of
thought lies dormant among the lower races of man.

' 9 t

' I'l

'(.,

i)-

443

1.1 '.;

CHAPTER X.

I* •*• r

LAWS.

THE customs and laws of the lower races, so far as
religious and family relations are concerned, have
already been discussed. There are, however, some
other points of view with reference to which it seems
desirable to make sonie remarks. The progress and
development of law is indeed one of the most interesting
as well as important sections of human history. It is
far less essential, as Goguet ^ truly observes, ' de savoir

* le nombre des dynasties et les noms des souverains

* qui les composoient ; mais il est essentiel de connoitre
' les loix, les arts, les sciences et les usages d'une nation

* que toute I'antiquit^ a regard^e comme un modele de

* sagesse et de vertu. Voilk les objets que je me suis

* proposes, et que je vais traiter avec le plus d'exacti-
*tude qu'il me sera possible.' It is, however, impos-
sible thoroughly to understand the laws of the most
advanced nations, unless we take into consideration
those customs of ruder communities from which they
took their origin, by which they are so profoundly
influenced.

It is, therefore, very much to be regretted that we
are not more thoroughly acquainted with the laws and
customs of savage races.

* De I'Origine des Loix, des Arts, et des Sciences, toI. i. p. 46.

444

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT.

1 l<

\\\^

I' '

1 •

\r^'h'

] i

At the time Goguet puV Ushed his celebrated work,
our knowledge was even more defective than is now
the case.

Still I am surprised that with the evidence which
was before him, and especially as he was one of the
first to point out that much light is thrown by the
condition of modern savages on that of our ancestors in
times now long gone by,^ he should have regarded the
monarchical form of government as the most ancient
and most universally established.^ * C'est, sans con-
' tredit,' he says, ' le plus anciennement et le plus uni-
' versellement ^tabli.'

'La royaute,' he continues, 'est d'ailleurs une
' image de I'autorite que les peres avoient originairement
' sur leurs enfants : ils ^toient dans ces premiers terns
' les chefs et les li^gislateurs de leur famille.'

Whereas, it has been already shown in the earlier
chapters of this work that the family is by no means so
perfectly organised among the lowest races.

Sir G. Grey,^ speaking of the Australians, truly says
that the ' laws of this people arc unfitted for the govern-
' ment of a single isolated family, some of them being
' only adapted for the regulation of an assemblage of

* M. Goguet remarks tbat some
races, being ignorant of the art of
writing, even now, * pour constater

* leurs ventes, leurs achats, leurs em-

* priints, etc., eraploient certains nior-
' ceaux be bois entaill^s diversoment.

* On les coupe en deux : le crdancier
' en garde une moitit^, ot le dt5l)iteur

* rot lent I'autre. Quand la dette ou la
' promesse est acquilti^e, chncun re-

* metlemorceau qu'il avoit par dovors

* lui ' (p. 20). This method of keep-
itijr accounts is not confined to savage

races. It was practised by the En-
glish Government down to the com-
mencement of the present century,
and I myself possess such a receipt
given by the English Government to
the East India Company in the year
1770, and duly preserved in the
India House until within the last
ten years. It represents 24,000/.,
indicated by twenty-four equal
notches in a rod of wood.

' Loo, cit, vol. i. p. 0.

' Grey's Australia, vol. ii. p. 222.

SAVAGE LAWS NOT FOUNDED ON THE FAMILY. 445

families ; they could, therefore, not ha\e been a series
of rules given by the first father to his chilQi*en : again,
they could not have been rules given by an assembly
of the first fathers to their children, for there are these
remarkable features about them, that some are of such
a nature as to compel those subject to them to remain
in a state of barbarism.'

But, although the progress and development of law
belong, for the most part to a more advanced stage of
human society than that which is the subject of this
work, still, in one sense, as already mentioned, even the
lowest races of savages have laws.

Those who have not devoted much attention to the
subject have generally regarded the savage as having
one advantage, at least, over civilised man ; that,
namely, of enjoying an amount of personal freedom,
greater than that of individuals belonging to more
civilised communities.

There cannot be a greater mistake. The savage is
nowhere free. All over the world his daily life is regu-
lated by a complicated and often most inconvenient set
of customs (as forcible as laws), of quaint prohibitions
and privileges ; the prohibitions as a general rule apply-
ing to the women, and the privileges to the men. Nay,
every action of their lives is regulated by numerous
rules, none the less stringent because unwritten.

' The Karens,' says McMahon, ' j)ossess an oral law
' almost as cumbrous as the written law of more civilised
' peoples.' ^

' Fashion,' says Schweinfurth, ' in the distant wilds

' The Karens of tlie Gold. Chei'sonoHe, p. 83.

.".5 iJl

:■■%

446 TYRANNY OF CUSTOM AMONG SAVAGES.

h\i

*of Africa, tortures and harasses poor humanity as

* much as in the great prison of civilisation.' ^

Speaking of the natives of Bengal, Sir J. Phear tells
us that 'their down-sittings and uprisings, walking,

* sleeping, eating, drinking, may be said to be subject to

* the arbitrary control of spiritual agencies.' ^

In Peru the houses were inspected by Government
officials, to see that the household was kept in proper
order, and even that the children were under due
control. In Madagascar any man who changed his
locality or occupation without permission, was liable to
death. In Japan, ujitil recently, the hours of rising,
dining, and going to bed were fixed by law. * Then
' we also learned that with them every day through-

* out each month has its fady or food which must
' not be eaten when travelling on that day. Thus, on

* the first day silkworms must not be eaten ; on the

* second Indian corn is prohibited ; and so on succes-

* sively, with sugar-cane, bananas, sweet potatoes, rice,

* jams, honey, earth-nuts, beans, kktsaka, and v6amaho.'^

Mr. Lang, speaking of the Australians,* tells us
that, ' instead of enjoying perfect personal freedom, as

* it would at first appear, they are governed by a code

* of rules and a set of customs which form one of the

* most cruel tyrannies that has ever, perhaps, existed

* on the face of the earth, subjecting not only the will,

* but the property and life of the weak to the dominion

* of the strong. The whole tendency of the system is

in
to

: i*!

• Heart of Africa, vol. i. p. 410.
" Sir John B. Phear, The Aryan

Village in India and Ceylon, p. 22.

* Folk Lore Record, vol. ii. p. 81.

* Aborigines of Australia, p. 7.
Eyre, loc. cit. vol. ii. 886. See
Note,

TYBANNY OF CUSTOil AMONO aAVAQEa. 44,7

* to give ever3rthing to the strong and old, to the pre-

* judice of the weak and young, and more particularly

* to the detriment of the women. They have rules by

* which the best food, the best pieces, the best animals,

* &c., are prohibited to the women and young men, and

* reserved for the old. The women are generally ap-

* propriated to the old and powerful, some of whom

* possess four to seven wives ; while wives are altogether

* denied to young men, unless they have sisters to give

* in exchange, and are strong and courageous enough

* to prevent their sisters from bein^ taken without

* exchange.'

The Australian savage cannot even do as he likes
with the game he has killed when hunting, but is tied
down by strict rules which allot one leg to one member
of his family, one to another, the breast to a third, and
60 on.

Among the Mbayas of South America the married
women are not allowed to eat beef, capibara, or monkey;
and the girls are forbidden to partake of any meat, or
any fish which is more than a foot long. * Les Char-

* treux m^mes ne sont pas venus k ce point d'aus-

Amongst the Samoyedes women may not eat the
head of the reindeer, nor pass across a hut behind the
fire.

* To believe,' says Sir G. Grey,^ ' that man in a

* savage state is endowed with freedom, either of

* thought or action, is erroneous in the highest degree.'

i.«

■'' ^

» Azara's Voy.
M^ridionale.

dans I'Am^r. • Orey'e Australia, vol. ii. p.

217.

448 TYRANNY OF CUSTOM AMONG SAVAGES.

«i^' '

. I :

I'-

hi i

l! if}

\\\t

• I

)

In Tahiti,* the men were allowed to eat the flesh of
the pig, and of fowls, and a variety of fish, cocoa-nuts,
and plantains, and whatever was presented as an offer-
ing to the gods, which the females, on pain of death,
were forbidden to touch, as it was supposed they would
pollute them. The fires on which the men's food was
cooked were also sacred, and were forbidden to be used
by the females. The baskets in which their provisions
were kept, and the house in which the men ate, were
also sacred, and prohibited to the females under the
same cruel penalty ; hence the inferior food, both for
wives, daughters, &c., was cooked at separate fires,
deposited in distinct baskets, and eaten in lonely
solitude by the females in little huts erected for the
purpose.' ' Nothing,' says the Bishop of Wellington,
can be more mistaken than to represent the New
Zealanders as a people without law and order. They
are, and were, the slaves of law, rule, and prece-
dent.' 2

The head of a chief was regarded as especially
sacred ; and Shortland gives an amusing account of a
case in which an unfortunate child suffered sadly,
because ' no one could for a long time be fouT'd of suffi-
' ciently high rank to cut his hair or wash his head.' ^

1^ savages pass unnoticed many actions which we
should consider as highly criminal, on the other hand
they strictly forbid others which we should consider
altogether immaterial.

The natives of Russian America, near the Yukon

' Polynesian Researches, vol. i. ' Traditions of the New Zea-

p. 222. landers, p. 108.

» Trans. Ethn. Sue. 1870, p. 307.

CURIOUS CUSTOMS.

410

river, 'have certain superstitions with rofrard to the
' bones of animals, which they will neither tlirow on tlic
' fire nor to the clogs, but save them in their houses or
' caches. Wlien they saw us careless in such matters,
' they said it would prevent them from catching or
' shooting successfully. Also, they will not throw away
' their hair or nails just cut short, but save them, hang-
' ing them frequently in packages on the trees.' ^ The
Mongols^ think it a fault to touch the fire, or take
flesh out of the pot with a knife, or to cleave wood with
a hatchet near the hearth, imagining it takes away the
fire's power. It is no less faulty to lean on a whip or
touch arrows with it ; to kill young birds ; or pour
liquor on the ground: to strike a horse with a bridle; or
break one bone against another. Mr. Tylor has already
pointed out^ that almost exactly the same prohibitions
occur in America.

Some savage rules are very sensible. Thus Tanner
states that the Algonkin Indians, when on a war-path,
must not sit up on the naked ground ; but nuist, at least,
have some grass or bushes under them. They must, if
possible, avoid wetting their feet ; but if they are com-
pelled to wade through a swamp, or to cross a stream,
they must keep tlieir clothes dry, and wliip their legs
with bushes or grass when they come out of the water.*
For others the reason is not so obvious. Thus, the
small bowls out of which they drink are marked across
the middle ; in going out they must place one side to
their mouth ; in returning, the otlier. The vessels

' WhvJuper, Tniiisi. lOllin. .Sue
N.S. vol. vii. p. 174.

« Asl ley's Coll. vol. iv. p. 54H.

^ Karly lli.xlory ol" Mun, p. \liii.
* Tauuor's Niirrativo, p. liJ.3.

r, a

'■■t ■

• I

450

RULES RELATING TO HUNTING.

i :

must also on their return be thrown away or hung up
in a tree.

Huntino^ tribes generally have well-understood
rules with reference to game. Among tlie Green-
landers, should a seal escape with a hunter's javelin in
it, and be killed by another man afterwards, it belongs
to the former. But if the seal be struck with the har-
poon and bladder, and the string break, the hunter
loses his right. If a man find a seal dead with a har-
poon in it, he keeps the seal, but returns the harpoon.
In reindeer hunting, if several hunters strike a deer
together ; it belongs to the one whose arrow is nearest
the heart. The arrows are all marked, so that no dis-
pute can arise, but since guns have been introduced
many quarrels have taken place. Any man who finds
a piece of drift-wood (which in the far North is ex-
tremely valuable) can appropriate it by placing a stone
on it, as a sign that some one has taken possession of it.
No other Greenlander will then touch it.

Among the Khonds, hunters in pursuit of game have

* an admitted right to pursue it to any place, either
' within or without their own boundaries, until the

* animal is killed or captured,' but it is also understood
that ' the villagers on whose land it may be killed have
' a right to a share of the meat.' ^

Again, far from being informal or extemporary,
the salutations, ceremonies, treaties, and contracts of
savages are characterised by the very opposite qualities.

Eyre mentions that in Australia * in their inter-
' course with each other, natives of different tribes are

' Campbell's "Wild Tribes of Khondistan, p. 41.

LEGAL CEREMONIES AND CONTItACTS.

4ol

11^^

* exceedingly punctilious.' ^ The same is the case with
the natives of Guiana.

jMariner gives a long account of the elaborate core-
monies practised by the Tongans, and of their ' regard
' for rank.' ^ The king ' was by no means of the highest
rank. The Tooitonga, Yeachi, and several other chiefs
preceded him. Indeed the name Tooitonga means
King of Tonga ; the office, however, had come to be
wholly of a religious character ; the Tooitonga being
regarded as descended from the gods, if not a deity
himself. He was so sacred that some words were
retained for his exclusive use.

Below Tooitonga and Veaohi came the priests, while
civil society was divided into five ranks — the king, the
nobles, the Matabooles, the Mooas, and the Tooas. The
child took the rank of the mother among the nobles,
but the Matabooles were succeeded by the eldest son.

Among the Micronesians also distinctions of rank
were very strictly observed. Thus in Banabe, one of
the Caroline Islands, there were three classes, and we
are assured that even in battle ' a person of one class
' never attacked one of another.' *

It is curious that the use of the third i)erson in
token of respect occurs in Tonga, as well as some other
countries. ' Thus the King of Tonga addressuig the
' Tooitonga says, " Ho egi Tooitonga ; " that is, literally
' thy Lord Tooitonga, in which the possessive pronoun
' thy, or your, is used instead of my ; or if the word
'egi be translated lordshij) or chiefship, the term of

' Discoveries in Australia, vol. 100, 207.

ii. p. 214. •' Loc. cit. vol. ii. p. 70.

" Toii^'a Iblamks vol. ii. pp. 185, * Ilalo'a U. S. E.xpl. Exped. p. 83.

• 1 (i 2

.11

'I'

, t

't '

452

COUIiT LANGUAGE.

* address will be more consistent and similar to ours,

* your lordship, your grace, your majesty. The title ho
' egi, is never used but in addressing a superior chief

* or speaking of a god, or in a public speech. Ho egi !
' also means chiefs, as in the commencement of Finow's

* speech.' ^

In Samoa we are assured that the distinction be-
tween the language of ceremony and that of common
life is even more marked than in Tonga. ^

Samoan orators, moreover, are not satisfied to address
their audience generally, but go over the names and
titles, even with ancestral references.

Here also the plural is always used in speaking to a
superior. Mr. Turner mentions that the first time he
was so addressed he felt somewhat hurt, for as he did not
know the custom, and happened to be riding, he thought
the native intended to couple him with his liorse.^

In Feejee, if by chance a clilc^ slipped or fell, eveiy
one of inferior rank was expected mmediately to do the
same, lest they should appear more careful or skilful
than their superior. In such a case, however, the chief
was expected to pay handsomely for the compliment.*

The Egbas, a negro race of West Africa, who are,
says Burton,^ 'gifted Avitli uncommon loquacity and

* spare time, have invented a variety of salutations and

* counter- salutations applicable to every possible occa-
' sion. For instance, Oji re, did you wake well ?
' Akwaro, good morning ! Akuasan, good day ! Akwale,

* good evening ! Akware, to one tired. Akushe, to

. : •-►:

' Mariner, vol. ii. p. 142.
'•' Hale's U. S. Expl. Exp. p. 280.
' Nineteen Years in Polynesia,
p. 340.

US.

* Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i. p. 39.
^ Burton's Abeokuta, vol. i. p.

25)0.

tfUADATTOXS OF TiAXK.

453

one at work. Akurin (from rin, to walk), to a tra-
veller. Akule, to one in the house. Akwatijo, after
a long absence. Akwalejo, to a stranger. Akiirajo, to
one in distress. Aknjiko, to one sitting. Akudardo
to one standing. Aknta, to one selling. Wolebe (be
careful), to one met, and so forth. The servile .«/w,sA-
tantja or prostration of the Hindus is also a universal
custom. It is performed in different ways ; the most
general is, after depositing the burden and clapping
hands once, twice, or thrice, to go on all fours, touch
the ground with the belly and breast, the forehead,
and both sides of the face successively ; kiss the earth,
half rise up, then pass the left over the right forearm,
and vice versa, and finally, after again saluting mother
Hertha, to stand erect. The performance usually takes
place once a day on first meeting, but meetings are so
numerous that at least one hour out of the twenty-
four must thus be spent by a man about town.

Livingstone^ was particularly struck, in passing
through the village, with the punctiliousness of man-
ners shown by the Balonda. The inferiors, on meet-
ing their superiors in the streets, at once drop on
their knees and rub dust on their arms and chest.
They continue the salutation of clapping the hands
until the great ones have passed.' Among the Bedouins

it is said that when friends meet, the compliments rarely

last less than ten minutes.

In the religious customs of Tahiti,^ ' however large

'or costly the sacrifices that had been offered, and

' however near its close the most protracted ceremony

' Travels iu South Africa, p. '^ Ellis's Polynesian Researches,

•2dG. vol. ii. p. 167.

'It

454

SALUTATIONS AND CEREMONIES.

, in

IK I

fill J

Its

H-.i.i

'might be, if the priest omitted or misplaced any word
' in the prayers with which it was always accompanied,
' or if his attention was diverted by any means, so that
' the prayer was hai, or broken, the whole was rendered
' unavailable ; he must prepare other victims and repeat
' his prayers over from the commencement.'

In America, the Wild Comanche is greatly offended
by any breach of his rules of etiquette, and when Aran-
cjinians meet, the compliments generally last at least
ten minutes.

Public business moreover is conducted with tedious
formality. Thus in Feejee^ 'old forms are strictly ob-
' served and innovations opposed. An abundance of
' measured clapping of hands and subdued exclamations
' characterise these occasions. Whale's teeth and other
' property are never exchanged or presented without the
'following or similar form: "A! woi! woi! woi! A!
' woi ! woi ! woi ! ! A tabua levu ! woi ! woi ! A mudua,
' mudua, mudua ! " (clapping).' But little consideration
is required to show that this is quite natural. In the
absence of writing, evidence of contracts must depend
on the testimony of witnesses, and it is necessary, there-
fore, to avoid all haste which might lead to forgetfulness,
and to imprint the ceremony as much as possible on the
minds of those present.

Among the Romans also, an importance was attached
to formalities and expressions, which seems to us most
excessive. ' Celui,' for instance, says Ortolan, 'qui
'dira vignes (vites) })arce qu'il plaidc sur des vignes,
' au lieu de dire arborcs, terme sacramental de la loi,

" AVillinnis' Fiji and the Fijiaiis, vol. i. p. 28.

is'

CONDUCT OF PUBLIC JiUSIXESS.

4r,5

' perdra son proces.' ^ Under the Emperors, however,
this strictness was considerably relaxed.''

Passing on to the question of jiroperty in land, ' lia

* premiere loi,' says Goguet,^ ' qu'on aura ctablie, aura
' et<5 pour assigner et assurer a cha(|ue habitant une cer-
' taine quantite de terrain.'

The same view has been taken by other writers. It
does not, however, appear that property in land implies,
or necessarily arose from, agriculture. On the contrary
it exists even in hunting communities. Usually, indeed,
during the hunting stage, property in land, is tribal, not
individual. The North American Indians seem, as a
general rule, to have had no individual property in
land. It appears, therefore, at tirst sight, remarkable
that among the Australians,* who are in most respects
so much lower in the scale, * every male has some
" portion of land, of which he can alwfiys point out the
'exact boundaries. These properties are subdivided
' by a father among his sons during his own lifetime
' and descend in almost hereditary succession. A man
' can dispose of or barter his lands to others, but a

* female never mherits, nor has primogeniture among
' the sons any peculiar rights or advantages.' Nay,
more than this, there are some tracks of land, peculiarly
rich in gum, &;c., over which, at the period when
the gum is in season, numerous families have an ac-
knowledged right, although they are not allowed to
come there at other times.*^ Even the water of the
rivers is claimed as property by some of the Australian

' Ortolan's Justiniau, vol. i. p.

510.

- Loc. cit. p. 354.
' Loc, cit.

* Eyre, Discoveries in Australia,
vol. ii. p. 207. See also Lang in
Grey's Aastralia, vol. ii. p. 232.

^ Cl-rey's Australia, vol. ii. p. 298.

. S:

456

FEOPETBTY IN LAND.

tribes. ' Trespass for the purpose of hunting ' is in
Australia regarded as a capital offence, and is, when
possible, punished with death. ^

The explanation seems to be that the liedskins
depended mainly on the larger game, while the Austra-
lians fed on opossums, reptiles, insects, roots, «S:c. The
Redskin, therefore, if land had been divided into indi-
vidual allotments, might have been starved in the
vicinity of abundance ; while the Australian could
generally obtain food on his own property.

Among; the tribes of the Zambesi accordinof to Liv-
ingstoue, if a hunter follows a wounded elephant and
kills it on the land of another tribe, the under side
of the animal belongs to that tribe, and the hunter must
not begin to cut it up until some representative of tlie
landowners is present to see that the division is fairly
made.

In Polynesia,^ wherever cultivation was carefully at-
tended to, as in Tahiti, ' every portion of land has its
' res[)ectivc owner ; and even the distinct trees on the
' land had sometimes different proprietors, and a tree
' and the land it grew on different owners.'

However, even an agricultural condition does not
necessarily require individual property in land ; on the
contrary, we find evidences in so many countries of the
existence of village communities, holding land in com-
mon, that there seems strong reason to suppose that in
the history of liuman ])rogre8s the individual })roperty
in hind was always [)roceded by a period in which move-

' Lor. cif. p. 2a0.

vol. il. p. .".(iL>.
p. III.

Diulfiiiibiicli, vol. ii.

COMMUNAL PROPERTY.

able property alone was individual, while the land was
common.^

Tacitus mentions that amonnj the ancient Germans
the arable lands were occupied in turns,'^ and Cicsar®
states that the mao-istrates lotted out the lands, chanoins:
the allotment each year.

In New Zealand there were three distinct tenures
of land : * viz., by the tribe, by the family, and by the
individual. The common rights of a tribe were often
very extensive, and complicated by intermarriages.
The eel cuts, also, are strictly preserved as private pro-
perty. Children, as soon as they were born, had a
right to a share of the family property. Shortland, how-
ever, states ' that the head of a family had a recognised
' right to dispose of liis property among his male ofF-
' spring an(t kinsmen.'* Probably on these points the
custom was not th(,' same in all the tribes.

M. de Laveleyc has described similar communities
in Java, and M. IJenan among certain Semitic tribes in
Northern Africa.^

In some cases, land was private })roperty for a ])or-
tion of the year,^ and belonged to the couununity for
the remainder. Thus our ' Lanunas Lands ' were so
called, because they were private property until Lam-
mas-day (August 1), by which tiuie the crops were
supposed to be gathered in ; after which period they
were subject to common riglits of pasturage till the

' Ftiuclicr, in Systcnia nf Luml
Teimre, p. .".(i2, cf Hcq,
' Geriiianiii, xxvi.

* De IWlo Giillico, xxii.

•' Taylor's Now Zoaliiiu' niid it-*
Inlmhitaiits, p. 'Mi,

* SliitvtliuulV Triulitiuiis, \-(',, o['

tlio New Z(aliui{lf>r8, p. 27.1.

" I'liirly History ui' bistitutions,
p. 77.

'' Niissc, On tlio Ajrric. Coinni-
(if tlio Miildlo Aijtw. Pub. by the
('oImI.mi Ciiil), 1^71.

r >

■: ^

458

COMMUNAL PROPERTY.

sprino--

x^. These meadows were seldom manured, and, as
the portions assigned were often exceedingly small, it
was difficult to retain the exact boundaries during the
joint occupation of the land ; it was therefore most con-
venient to make a fresh partition each year.

Throughout India we still find the system of village
communities, holding the land in common.^

In some parts of Russia, ' after the expiration of a
' given, but not in all cases of the same, period, separate

* ownerships are extinguished, the land of the village is
' thrown into a mass, and then it is re- distributed among
' the families composing the community, according to
' their number. This re-partition having been effected,
' tlie rights of families and of individuals are again
' allowed to branch out into various lines, which they

* continue to follow till another period of division comes
' round.' ^ That a similar state of things existed in
Ireland is indicated in the Brehon laws, on which we
are also promised a volume by Sir II. Maine, which will
no doubt be a most valuable contribution to our know-
ledge of this subject.

It is stated to have been a principle of the earliest
Sclavonian laws that the property of families could not
be divided for a perpetuity. Even now, in parts of
Servia, Croatia, and Austrian Sclavonia, tlie entire
land is cultivated by the villagers, and the produce is
annually divided.

In Mexico certain lands called ' Altai)eltalli ' be-
longed to the district, and were inalienable.

' Maine's Village Communities in Aryan Village in India ond Oeylon.
the East and West. Pheai, The '^ Maine's Ancient I^aw, p. 2(17.

ml. Ill

LAWS OF INHERITANCE.

4.V.)

In Peru, again, the land belonoed to the State, and
every year a fresh allotment took place, an additional
portion bemg granted for every child ; the amount
allowed for a son being twice as much as for a
daughter.^

Diodorus Siculus informs us that the Celtiberians
divided their land annually among individuals, to be
cultivated for the use of the public ; and that the pro-
duct was stored up and distributed from time to time
among the necessitous.''^

It does not necessarily follow that property in land
involves the power of sale. ' We are too apt,' says
Campbell,^ ' to forget that propert}; in land, as a trans-
' ferable mercantile connnodity absolutely owned and
' passing from hand to hand like any chattel, is not an
' ancient institution, but a modern development, reached
' only in a few very advanced countries.' ' It may be
' said,' he adds,* ' of all landed tenures in India pre-
' vious to our rule, that they were practically not trans-
' ferable by sale, and that only certain classes of the
' better (letined claims were to some extent transferable
' by mortgage. The seizure and sale of land for private
' debt were wholly and utterly luiknown — such an idea
' had never entered into tl\e native imagination.' So
also the sale of land was forbidden among some of the
Teutonic, Slavonic, and Celtic tribes, as also among the
Mayas of Yucatan and Nicaragua.^

If ■■

' Wiittke's Qes. der Meiii^clihoit,
vol. i. p. 328 ; Prescott, vol. i. p.
44. A somewhat ditterent ncoomit
is given by Polo do Undi'^,qii'di),
Kites and Lnwa of the Iuca», p.
10-J.

• lidi'd Kamo.s' IIJMtor} of Man,
vol. i. p. Oi'}.

^ Svstt'Ui.s of Lund IVniiro, p.
151.

' Ihid p. 171.

** IJanrroft, vol. ii, p. Or»2.

400

LAWS OF INHERITANCE.

Still less does the possession of land necessarily
imply the power of testamentary disposition, and we
find as a matter of fact that the will is a legal process
of veiy late origin.

In some cases it seems to be held that the title to
property ceases with the life of the owner. Thus, in
the Feejee Islands, on Vanua Levii, ' for some days after
' the decease of a ruling chief, if his death be known to
' the people, the wildest anarchy prevails. The " subject
' tribes " rush into the chief town, kill pigs and fowls,
* snatch any property they can lay their hands on, set
' fire to houses, and play all manner of mischievous
' pranks, the townsfolk off^ering no resistance.' ^ It
would seem, however, to be only the chief's own pro-
perty which is liable to attacks.^

I have already mentioned (anfe, p. 397) the state of
entire lawlessness which exists in parts of Africa and
in some of the Polynesian Islands between the death
of one ruler and the election of his successor.

' Even in our own country down to the reign of John,
' offences committed during the interregniun, or period
' elapsing between tlie day of the death of the last monarch
' and the recognition of his successor, were unpunishable
' in those tribiuials whose authority was derived from the
' Crown.' ^ This continued, indeed, to be the case for
nearly a century afterwards, when it was [)ut an end to
by the legal fiction that the king never dies.

It is stated that formerly, when a Greenlandcr died,
if he had no grown-up children, his [)r()[)orty was

' Fiji and the Fijinns, vol. i. p. x. p. 140.
lt<7. ■■• Stiihls, Constitutionnl History

'^ Fison, .lour. Anthr. Inst. vol. nf Kngland, vol. i. pp. ISJ, /5l;{.

LAWS OF IXHElilTANCE.

461

regcarded as having no longer an owner, and every one
took what he chose, or at least what he could get,
without the slio;htest regard to the wretched widow or
children.^

The early history of wills is indeed most interesting.
Sir H. Maine, in his excellent work on ancient law,
points out that the essence of a will, as now under-
stood, is — firstly, that it should take effect at death ;
secondly, that it may be secret ; and thirdly, that it
is revocable. Yet even in Roman law wills acquired
these characteristics but slowly and gradually, and
in the earlier stages of civilisation wills were generally
unknown.

In Athens, the power of willing was introduced by
Solon ; only, however, in cases when a person died
childless. In Sparta wills were not legjil until after the
Peloponnesian war.'"^ The Barbarians on the north of
the Roman empire were, says Maine,^ 'confessedly
' strangers to any such conception as that of a Will.
' The best authorities agree that there is no trace of it
' in those parts of their written codes which comprise
* the customs practised by them in their original seats,
' and in their subsequent settlement on the edge of the
' Roman Empire.' And again, in studying the ancient
German laws, ' one result has invariably disclosed
' itself — that the ancient nucleus of the code contains
' no trace of a will.' *

The Hindoos were also entire strangers to the will.^

» ;

' t'rantz's Hist, ol' Oreenlaud, ' Lor. rif. p. lOO.

vol. i. p. 102. ' Maina's Ancit'Ut Law, p. lO.'J.

^ La citt5 antique, p. 88. Cainplx-ll in Systoras of Laud

' Lor. cit. p. 172. Tonuio, p. 177.

462

ABSENCE OF WILLS.

I > '

ilii.

) '. '

,1'
1 1

Ill

It is therefore very remarkable that in Australia * a

* father divides his land during his lifetime, fairly ap-

* portioning it amongst his several sons, and at as early
' an age as fourteen or fifteen they can point out the
' portion which they are eventually to inherit.' ^

Again, in Tahiti, the system of willing was (I pre-
sume when there were no children) in full force,^ ' not
' only with reference to land but to any other kind of
' property. Unacquainted with letters, they could not
' leave a written will ; but, during a season of illness,
' those possessing property frequently called together

* the members of the family or confidential friends,

* and to them gave directions for the disposal of their
' effects after their decease.'

For the modern will, however, we are mainly in-
debted to the Romans, and they only arrived at it by a
slow and tortuous process. At first, indeed, even Roman
wills, if so they may be called, were neither secret,
deferred, nor revocable. On the contrary, they were
made in public, before not less than five witnesses ;
they took effect at once, and were irrevocable.

It seems probable that in the first instance the power
of willing was only recognised when there were no
sons. The Romans devoutly believed that the spirits of
their fathers hovered round the household hearth and
fed on the ghosts of the food offered up to them. These
offerings the son alone would or could make. Hence,
in the absence of a true son, it was of great importance
to secure one by some other process. This seems to
have been the original object of the will ; the inheri-

' Eyre's Australia, vol. ii. p. 230.

'^ Ellis, Polynesian Ilesoarches, vol. ii. p. 302,

HISTORY OF WILLS.

463

tance following as a natural consequence. But as this
imposed various duties on the heir — one being to pay all
the debts of the deceased, even when there was no pro-
perty to meet them — the solemn consent of the heir was
required, and most elaborate formalities were prescribed.
If none of the heirs named in the will would accept the
office, the whole will became null and void. That the
original object of the will was to create a son, also ex-
plains the fact that even down to the time of Pladrian a
will was rendered invalid when a ' posthumus suus '
arose — i.e. when a son was born after the will was
made.

There was, moreover, another reason which gave
great importance to the will. For various reasons it
would be the wish of the father to emancipate his
favourite sons ; but as soon as this was effected tliey
ceased to belong to the family, and could not conse-
quently inherit as heirs at law. On the death of a
Roman citizen, m the absence of a will, the property
descended to the unemancipated children, and after them
to the nearest grade of the agnatic kindred. Hence,
the same feeling which induced a Roman to emancipate
his sons impelled him also to make a will, for, if he
did not, emancipation involved disinheritance.

The testamentary forms remained extremely complex
even down to the latest times of the Roman Empire,
but the inconvenience was to a great extent obviated by
the invention of the ' codicil.'

In the absence of wills, the interests of the children
were in some cases secured by customs resembling
those of the Russian village communities, or ' Mirs,' in
which children have a right to their share as soon as

•I .

404

BOMAX WILLS.

tliey are bom. Nor are such rights confined to com-
munal properties. In some countries the children have
a vested right to a portion of their father's estate.
Here, therefore, in the absence of children, the will is
replaced by adoption.

Among the Hindoos, ' the instant a son is born^ he
* acquires a vested right in his father's i)roperty, which
' cannot be sold without recognition of his joint-owner-
' ship. On the son's attaining full age, he can some-
' times compel a partition of the estate, even against
' the consent of the parent ; and, should the parent
' acquiesce, one son can always have a partition even
' against the will of the others. On such partition
' takmg place, the father has no advantage over his
' children, except that he has two of the shares instead
' of one. The ancient law of the German tribes was
' exceedingly similar. The Allod or domain of the
' family was the joint property of the father and his

sons.

Among the Mukkuvas of Ceylon ^ when a woman
dies, the right of dominion descends to her daughters
in equal shares, or if any of them are dead, to their
representatives, per stirpes, but on the other hand the
right of possession goes to the sons per capita. The
children of sons who may have predeceased her, do not
take any share in the possession. On the other hand
the enjoyment of land passes from a man to his sur-
viving brothers, and after their death to their sisters.
These laws seem to have arisen from the rule that the
sale of land was not permitted, and that, as men marry

' Maine's Ancient Law, p. 2'J8. - Brito, The Mukkuva Law, p. 30.

RIGHTS OF CHILDREN.

4G:

, 30.

out of their ' kudi ' or clan, and that as hmd could not
be removed, a man, when he left his ' kudi ' on marriage,
left the land behind him. If a woman has been twice
married, any property which she may have inherited
from her mother goes to the children by the first
marriage ; while, if a man leaves children by more
than one marriage, the children of each marriage get a
portion equal to what they would have got, if a division
of the property had been made immediately after the
dissolution of tlie marriage from wliicli they sprang.
Here, therefore, again, on the birth of children, their
parents become in some respects trustees on their
behalf.^

According to ancient German law, also, children
were co-proprietors with their father, and the family
endowment could not be parted Avith except by general
consent.

This probably explains the remarkable custom
that in many parts of Polynesia the son was con-
sidered of higher rank than the father ; and that in
some cases — as, for instance, in the Marquesas, and in
Tahiti — tlie king abdicated as soon as a son was born to
liim ; while landowners under similar circumstances lost
the fee-simple of their land, and became mere trustees
for the infant possessors.^

The Basutos have a strict system of primogeniture,
and, even during the father's life, the eldest son lias
considerable power both over tlie property and the
younger children.^

• Lor. rif. p. 1>4. vol. vi. lip. i>10, -'15, '21U.

• liW'is'fi I'olynefiaii Ri.',«earcliot;, ' (.'asalis' Basutos, p. 171).
vol. ii. pp. 340, 347; Wailz, Aiithr.

II li

1,' '

4«'.G

lilGHTS OF CniLVUEN.

■i

■:»ii .

The same system, in combination with inheritance
through females, is also in full force in Feejee, where
it is known as Vasu. The word means a nephew or
niece, ' but becomes a title of office in the case of tlie
' male, who in some localities has the extraordinary
' privilege of appropriating whatever he chooses belong-

* ing to his uncle, or those under liis uncle's power.' ^
This is one of the most remarkable parts of Feejee
despotism. ' However high a chief may be, if he has

* a nephew he has a master,' and resistance is rarely
thought of. Thakonauto, while at war with his uncle,
actually supplied himself with ammunition from his
uncle's stores.

Perhaps also the curious custom of naming the
father after the child may have originated from some
such regulation. Tin -s in Australia,^ when a man's
'Idest child is named, the father takes ' the name of the
' child, Kadlitpinna, the father of Kadli ; the mother
' is called Kadlingangki, the mother of Kadli, from

* ngangki, a female or woman.' This custom seems
v-ry general throughout the continent. Among the
Bechuanas of South Africa ' the parents take the name

* of the child.' Mrs. Livingstone's eldest boy being

* named Robert, she was, after his birth, always called
' Ma-Robert,' the mother of Robert.^ In Madagascar
also parent? often take the name of their eldest child.*

' Among the Kutchin of North America ^ the father

* takes his name from his son or daughter, not the son

' Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i. •* Sibii^e's Madagascar and its

p. 34. People, p. 198.

^ Eyre, loc. cit. vol. ii. p. 325. » Jones, Smithsonian Report,

' IJvingatone's Travels in South 1800, p. 320.
Africa, p. 126.

PARENTS NAMED AFTER THETR CHILDREN. 4fi7

' i

' from the father, as witli iis. The father's name is
' formed by tlie addition of the word " tee " to tlie
' end of the son's name; for instance, Que-ech-et may
' have a son and call him Sah-nen. The father is
' now called Sah-neu-tee, and the former name of
' Qne-ech-et is forgotten.' The same custom occurs in
Guatemala.^

In Sumatra ' the ftither," in many parts of the coun-
' try, particularly in Passum-mah, is distinguished by
' the name of his first child, as " Pa-Ladin," or " Pa-
' " Rindu," Pa for bapa, signifying " the father of,"
' and loses, in this acquired, his own proper, name.
' The women never change the name given them at the
' time of their birth ; yet frequently they are called
' through courtesy, from their eldest child, "Ma si ano,"
' the mother of such an one ; but rather as a polite
' description than a name.'

As a general rule property descends to the eldest
son, or is divided between all ; but Duhalde mentions
that among the Tartars the youngest son inherits the
property, because the elder ones, as they reacli manhood,
leave the paternal tent, and take with them the quantity
of cattle which their father chooses to give them. Ar-
bousset mentions that, according to Kaffir law, tlie
successor to a chief must be chosen from amono; the
younger sons, the two eldest being ineligible.''^ In
Northern Australia, according to Macgillivray,* both
sexes share alike, but the youngest child receives the

' Bancroft, /o<?. cif, vol. U. p. 680. of Good Hope, p. 140.
'^ Marsden's History of Sumatra, •« Voyage of II. M.S. 'Rattle-

]). 280. snake,' vol. ii. p. 28.
' Tour to the N.E. of tho raj»e

n ]i 3

'I.

4G8

LAWS OF INHblRITASCE.

\ *

■•ii

lai'f^est portion. Dr. Anderson also states that the
youngest son inherits among the Shans and Kakliyens
of Western Yiinan.^ A simiLar custom exists among
tlie Mrus of the Arrawak hills f it prevailed in Picardy
and Artois, where it was known as Mainet^, i.e. minor
natu, and even in some districts of our own country,
under the name of Borough-English.^

There are also cases, as, for instance, among the
Hindoos, in which the rule of primogeniture is followed
as regards office or power jolitically, but not with
reference to property.

The Singphos * ' have a peculiar custom. The eldest
' takes the landed estate with the titles, the youngest
' the personalties ; the intermediate brethren, when any
' exist, are excluded from all participation, and remain
* in attendance on the chief or head of the family as
' during: the lifetime of their father.'

Among the lower races of men the chiefs scarcely
take any cognisance of offences, unless they relate to
such things as directly con^. , n, or are supposed to
concern, the interests of the community generally. As
regards private injuries, every one must protect or
avenge himself. The administration of justice, says
Du Tertre,*^ ' among the Caribbians is not exercised by
' the captain, nor by any magistrate ; but, as it is among
' the Tapinambous, he who thinks himself injured gets

' Expedition to Western Yiinan,
pp. 117, 131.

- Lewin's Hill Tracts of Chitta-
gong, p. 104.

^ Wren Iloskyns in (Justoms of
hand Tenure, p. 104,

' Diilton's Des. Etlin. of Benpral,

p. l.'i.

^ History of the Caribby Islands,
p. 316. Labat also makes a very
similar statement, Voyage aux Islfs
de rAm^rique, vol. ii. p. 83. Azara,
Voy. dans TAmdr. Min. vol. ii.
p. ](>.

;■'

THE rUNISIIM]'L\T OF CRIME.

•i»;i)

such satisfaction of his adversary as he thinks lit,
according as liis passion dictates to him or his strenijth
permits him. The puhlic does not concern itself at ;ill
in the punishment of criminals ; and if any one amoni^'
them suffers an injury or affront, without endeavour-
ing to revenge himself, he is slighted by all tlie
rest.'

In Ancient Greece there were no officers whose duty
it was to prosecute criminals.^ Even in the case of
murder, the State did not take the initiative ; this was
left to the family of the suflerer, nor was the accused
placed under arrest until he was found guilty. Hence
the criminal usually fled as soon jis he found himself
likely to be condenmed.

Among the North American Indians,^ if a man were
murdered, ' the family of the deceased only have the
' right of taking satisfaction ; they collect, consult, and
' decree. The rulers of a town or of the nation have
' nothing to do or say in the business.' Indeed, it
would seem that the object of legal regulations was at
first not so much to punish the oifender as to restrain
and mitigate the vengeance inflicted by the aggrieved
party. The duty of revenge might also tend to diminish
crime. It is like compelling a prosecution.

We find the vendetta as a recognised custom not
only in Africa, but among Semitic races, as the Jews
and Arabs ; in Europe among the (V'lts, 'J'eutons
and Slavs, in Montenegro and Greece, in the Cau-
casus, among the Afghans, and in India, in Siam,
among the Polynesians and Malays, and in America.
Originally, no doubt, the liability to revenge was not

' Crogupt, vol. ii. p. 00. ^ Trans. Anier. Antiq. 8oc. vol. i. p. '2HI.

■■■hi'

I'i:

■'I

I':

I''!

470

ItEGULATEJJ liEVEXGE.

confined to the actual offender, but extended to his
whole family.

From this point of view the old theory was that the
two parties invoked the arbitration of the civil power,
and unless they did so the State had no right to act.
Hence probably the importance attached to the pleading
of the prisoner ; if he refused to plead, theoretically the
court could not interfere ; hence force and sometimes
even torture were used to compel him to do so. Ulti-
mately silence was construed as equivalent to not
guilty.

By degrees tlie right of revenge was limited in
various ways, especially as to those by whom it may
be exercised, those on wliom it may be exercised, the
injuries for which it can })c inflicted, and the extent to
Avhich punishment ought to be extended. Obvious con-
venience led also in some cases to the recognition of
certain occasions on which it was unlawful to revenge
injuries, as for instance during particular feasts, at certain
recognised markets, during marriage festivities, &c.
In other cases, as amongst the Jews, cities of refuge were
established.

The amount of legal revenge, if I may so call it, is
often strictly regulated, even where we should least
expect to find such limitations. Thus, in Western Aus-
tralia,^ crimes ' may be compounded by the criminal
' appearing and connnitting himself to the ordeal of
' liaving spears thrown at him by all such persons as
* conceive themselves to have been aggrieved.' So
strictly is the amount of punishment limited that if, in
inflicting such spear wounds, a num, either tlu'ough awe-

' Sir G. (irov's Australia, vol. ii. ]i. 'J4.'!.

REGULATED REVENGE.

471

lessness or from any other cause, exceeded the recognised
limits — if, for instance, he wounded the femoral artery
— he would in his turn become liable to punishment.
This custom does not appear to exist in South Australia,
but it also occurs in New South Wales/

Mr. Farrar states that in Afghanistan, where an
assembly of the elders act as ' the judges of the people, a
' show is always made of delivering up the criminal to
' the accuser, and of giving the latter the chance of re-
' taliating, though it is perfectly understood that he must
^ comply with the wishes of tlie assembly.' '^

Such cases as these seem to me to throw great light
on the origin of the idea of property. Possession de
fiicto neevls, of course, no explanation. When, however,
any rules were laid down regulating the amount or
mode of vengeance which might be taken in revenge for
disturbance ; or when the chief thought it worth wliile
himself to settle disi)ute8 about possession, and thus,
while increasing his own dignity, to check quarrels
which might be injurious to the general interests of the
tribe, the natural effect would be to develop the idea of
mere possession into that of property.

In the earlier stages of human development no
distinction seems to have been drawn between crimes
and injuries. Any harm done, whether intentional or
not, was resented and revenged either by the sufferer
himself or his clan. Hence, in so mniiy cases, any
crinu', even murder, might be atoned for by the payment
of such a sum of numey as satislied the re[)reHentatives
of the nuu'dered niau. This pjiyment was proportiojied

' Eyre's Exp. into Central Aus- » Primitive Manners and I'lis-

tralia, vol. ii. p. WiK tonis, p. 7.

472

TUU LAWS OF PROPERTY.

^,|!

:■!

to the injury done, and had no relation to the crime «ns
a crime. Hence, as the injury was the same whether
the death was accidental or designed, so also was the
penalty. Hence our word ' pay,' which comes from tlie
Latin ' pacare,' to appease or pacify.

Among the Kaffirs,^ for instance ' the law makes no
' distinction between a murder from malice or fore-
' thought, or from one committed on the impulse of
' the moment or in revenge for the blood of a ro-
' lative. A man is puni-^hed for taking the law into his
' own hands, and in no case is he justified in doing so,
' even in a case of retaliation.' On the other hand, ' the
' law does not a}>pear to demand compensation for
* what is clearly proved to be a purely accidental injury
' to property, although it will do so in accidental injuries
' to the pe7'.son.s of individuals, if the injury is of a
' serious nature, as the latter would come under the
' liead of criminal cases, and therefore oould only bo
' overlooked or the fine remitted by the chief himself.' "
Among the Rogos and l^areus also death is avenged, no
matter to what cause it may be due.

The Romans, on the contrary, based any claim for
compensation on the existence of a ' culpa ; ' and hence
laid down that where there had been no 'culpa,' no
action for rei)aration could lie. This led to very incon-
venient consequences. Thus, as J^ord Kames^ has
pointed out, if a ship were driven by the violence of
a tempest among the nnchor-ropes of another ship and
the sailors cut the ropes, liaving Jio other m':i)n8 of
getting free, they woukl not be liable for the damage

' Kallir Laws and (■iisfums, ]>.

110. St'o aisi. p. no.

•* Ihid p. 07. Suoalsop. 11.'!.
^ History (if Mat), vol. iv. p, .'II.

MANIFEST AM) NON-MANIFEST THIEVES. 473

The Aqiiilian law must be understood to apply only
to such damage as carries the idea of an injury
along with it, unless such injury has not been wil-
fully done, but from necessity. ' Thus Celsus puts
' the case of a person who, to stop the progress of a fire
' pulls down his neighbour's house ; and whether the fire
' had reached that house which is pulled down, or was
' extinguished before it got to it, in neither case, he
' thinks, will an action be competent from the Aquilian
' law.'

It would, however, appear that, even in IJoman law,
the opposite and more usual principle originally pre-
vailed. Tliis is indicated, for iustance, by tlie ':»Toat
difference in the penalties i;>iposed by ancient laws on
offenders caught in the act, and those only detected
after considerable delay. In the old Komau law, as in
that of some other countries, thieves were divided into
manifest and non-miinifest. The manifest thief, who
was caught in the act, or at any vate with the stol('i>
goods still in his possession, became, according to the
law of the twelve tables, the slave of the person
robbed, or, if he were already a slave, was [)ut to death.
The non-manifest thief, on the other hand, was only
liable to return double the value of the goods he hiui
stolen. Subse({uently, the very severe ])unishment in
the case of the manifest thief was mitigated, but he
was still forced to pay four times the ^{llue of what he
had stoli'U, or twice as nuieh as tiie non-nianilest tliicf.

The same |)rinciple was lol lowed by the North
American Indians.^ Again, in the German and Angh)-
Snxon codes, a thief caught in the act might be killed

'rniiis, AmiT, Aiitif[. Sue, \(il, i, ]}. '"Jsrt,

t t

474

THE WEHRGELD.

F !

■1.

on the spot. Thus the law followed the old principles
of private vengeance, and in settling the amount of
punishment took as a guide the measure of revenge
likely to be taken by an aggrieved person under the
circumstances of the case.^

In the South Sea Islands, according to Williams,'-'
cases of theft were seldom brought before the king or
chiefs, but the people avenged their own injuries. The
rights of retaliation, however, had almost a legal force,
for ' although the party thus plundered them, they
' would not attempt to prevent the seizure : had they
' done so, the population of the district would have
' assisted those who, according to the established cus-
' torn, were thus punishing the aggressors. Sucli was
' the usual method resorted to for punisliing the petty
* thefts committed among themselves.'

That crimes were originally regarded as injuries to
the sufferer, naturally led, in many cases, to the substi-
tution of fines for bodily punishments. Thus, aiuong
tlie Anglo-Saxons the ' wehrgeld,' or fine for injuries,
was evidently a substitute for personal vengeance. Every
part of the body had a recognised value, even tlie teeth,
nails, and hair. Nay, the value assigned to the hitter
was proportionately very high ; the loss of the beard
being estimated at twenty shillings, while the breaking
of a thigh was only fixed at. twelve. In other cases
also the efte<'t on personal appearance seems to have
carried great weight, for the loss of a front tooth was esti-
mated at six shillings, while the fracture of a rib was only
fixed at three. In the case of a slave, the fine was paid to
th(.' owner.

' Set) Maine, loc. nf. p. M7S.

'^ I'nlyiu'siaii Hi'scnrclios, vol. ii. pp. .'l(i!>, .'i7-.

THE WEERGEW.

475

The amount varied according to the rank of the
person injured. All society below the royal family ani
the Ealdorman was divided into three classes ; the
Tywhind man, or Ceorl, was estimated at 200 shillings
according to the la^vs of Mercia ; the Sixhind man at
600 shillings, while the death of a royal thane was
estimated at 1,200 shillings.^

A similar system of fines was also provided for in
ancient Roman law.^

It also in some cases varied according to age. Thus
among the Goths the Wergild gradually increased up
to the age of fifty, after which it again diminislied. It
is a curious illustration of manners to find that women
were valued at much less, and that in their case the
price commenced to diminish after forty. The Siamese
also have a similar arrangement, but in their case the
maxunum is fixed at forty for a man, and thirty for a
woman.

In other cases the sum payable depends on the rank
of the aggressor. These cases are of two classes, some-
times, as under certain Mongol and Merovingian laws,
the sum payable increases with the rank, obviously
because the fine is supposed to fall more heavily <m the
poor than on the rich.

In some cases, however, the reverse is the case, be-
cause it is supposed to be a greater offence to uijure a
superior than an inferior.*'

In Ireland a composition or fine was Jidmitted for
murder 'instead of capital punishment; and this was

' Hume, p. 74. IlaLlani, Cons,
lUst. of I'lnglund, vol. i. p. 27l*.
'' Ovfoltiii, Kxpl. Tli.4. <li's fii-t.

cU' riMup. Jiistiiiii'ii, p. 114.
=> 7W, p. 217.

47G

THE WEnRGELD.

•I

It^c

: 1

' divided, as in other countries, between tlie kindred of
' the slain and the judge,' ^ down to a comparatively
late period.

Among the Kutchins of Yukon river (X. AV.
America) all crimes, even murder, may be compounded
for ; and the same is the case among the Nootka Indians."

Among the Hill tribes of North Aracan, ' all offencc;s
' or injuries are remedied by fine,' the amount of which is
fixed by long custom, and always rigorously demanded.'*
The Karens permitted all offences against the person,
however heinous, to be commutable by fine.*

Among the Kirghiz the family of a murdered man
are at liberty to compound with the murderer for a
certain i)ayment in horses, &c. A woman or a child
count for half as much as a man. There is also a
scale of compensation for injuries ; 100 sheep for a
thumb, 20 for a little finger, and so on.^

So also among the Kaffirs,^ ' as banishment, im-
' prisonment, and corporal punishment are all unknown
' in Kaflfir jurisprudence, the property of the people
' constitutes the great fund out of which the debts of
'justice are paid.' The fines, however, tlius levied,
were paid to the chief.^ The principle is, that a
man's goods are his own property, but his person is the
pro[)erty of the chief. A man who is injured there-
fore, however severely, derives no benefit from the tine.
Tlieir proverb is, ' No man caueat his own blood.'

' Ilallam, lop. cif. vol. iii. pp.

.'iji, m.

^ liivncrol't, loo. cit. pp. l.'K), 104.
•' St. .Tnlin, Journ. Antlirop. In-
stil iito, 1S72, p. 240.

' .M'MMlnin,Kiir('nsnrtlii' ni)M('ii

Ohoi'oue.se, p. 84.

•'■ Dcs. (le (uiitcs It'.s Xiit, iK'
I'Emp. do llussie, part i. p. 148.

" Kallir Jiaws nii<l (Jiistonis, p.
.'1(5.

' Ihiil. p. ;i.-).

THE WEniiOELD.

!•//

In other cases when the idea was recognised that a
crime and an injury were two essentially different things,
we find that two fines were inflicted, as, for instance, in
ancient Wales, where the ' galanas,' went to the family
as a compensation, and the ' saraad,' to the state. In
some cases a galanas became due, in some a saraad ;
while in others both were inflicted.

What has been above said with reference to crime
applies especially to men. Women stanii often in a
totally different position. Our own law recognises very
properly that a wife acting under the influence of her
husband cannot justly be punished as if she was a free
agent. But among various races, as we have seen, every
woman is under the control of some man, if not of her
husband, of the head of her family. Hence perliaps the
uncomplimentary, and to our ears ambiguous, saying
of the Bogos, that ' a woman is a HytTua.' ^

As regards personal injuries we find the Lex talionis
prevalent in a certain state of society all over the world.
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, undeniably
constitutes a certain rough justice.

The system of ' outlawing,' which also we find very
general among mankind, is not only natural in the
absence of prisons or of any effective policy, but is
primarily, perhaps, due to the joint responsibility of tlio
family or clan ; a responsibility from whicli, in the case
of a dangerous meml^er, they can only free themselves
by some such process.

As regards theft and robbery we often find, as wo
should expect, that robbery from another fiimily or clan is
in some cases looked on not only as no fault, but even as a

' Munziiiger, fr'itten unci lleclit dor llogo*?, S. UO, N. 117.

478

TUE WEURGELD

merit. In the old Chinese law there was a regular
gradation of the fine imposed, decreasing as the rela-
tionship of the thief to the person robbed diminished.

Again, the theft is very differently regarded accord-
ing to the habits of the race. For instance, among a
pastoral people, cattle-lifting was often regarded as
especially criminal ; while among agricultural races the
robbery or injury of crops was punished with extra
severity.

Perjury we often find is among the lower races not
a punishable ofi'ence. This at first sight remarkable
fact arises no doubt froin the consideration that it is a
sin against the Gods, who are therefore left to avenge
themselves.

The severity of early codes, and the uniformity in
the amounts of punishment which characterises them,
is probably due to the same cause. An individual who
felt himself aggrieved would not weigh very philoso-
phically the amount of punishment which he was
entitled to inflict ; and no doubt when in any com-
munity some chief, in advance of his time, endeavoured
to substitute public law for private vengeance, his
object would be to induce those who had cause of com-
plaint to apply to the law for redress, rather than to
avenge themselves ; which of course would not be the
case if the penalty allotted by the law ,vas much less
than that which custom would allow them to inflict for
themselves.

Subsequently, when punishment was substituted
for pecuniary compensation, the son? rule was at first
applied, and the distinction of intention was overlooked.
Kay, so long had the importance of intention been

GENERA L COXCL USIOX.

479

disregarded, that although it is now recognised in our
criminal courts, yet, as Mr. Bain points out,^ ' a moral
' stigma is still attached to intellectual error by many
' people, and even by men of cultivation.'

In this, as in so many of our other ideas and tastes,
we are still influenced by the condition of our ancestors
in bygone ages. What that condition was I have in
this work attempted to indicate, believing as I do that
the earlier mental stages through which the human race
has passed are illustrated by the condition of existing,
or recent, savages. The history of the human race has,
I feel satisfied, on the whole been one of progress. I
do not of course mean to say that every race is neces-
sarily advancing : on the contrary, most of the lower
ones are almost stationary ; and there arc, no doubt,
cases in which nations have fallen back ; but it seems
an almost invariable rule that such races are dying out,
while those which are stationary in condition are sta-
tionary in numbers also ; on the other hand, improving
nations increase in numbers, so that they always en-
croach on less progressive races.

In conclusion, then, while I do not mean for a
moment to deny that there are cases in which nations
have retrograded, I I'egard these as exceptional instances.
The facts and arguments mentioned in this work afford,
I think, strong grounds for the following conclusions,
namely : —

That existing savages arc not the descendants of
civilised ancestors.

That the primitive condition of man was one of
utter barbarism.

' McnUil and Moral Scienco, p. 718.

. t

480

GENERA L CONCLUSION.

Eii

That from this condition varions races have inde-
pendently raised themselves.

These views follow, 1 think, from strictly scientific
considerations. We shall not be the less inclined to
udoi)t them on account of the cheering prospects which
they hold out for the future.

In the closing chapter of ' Prehistoric Times,' while
fully admittin(^ the charms of savage life, I have en-
deavoured to point out the immense advantages which
we enjoy. Here I will only add that if the past history
of man has been one of deterioration, we have but a
groundless expectation of future improvement : on the
other hand, if the past has been one of i)rogress, Arc
may fairly hope that the future will be so too ; that the
blessings of civilisation will not only be extended to
other countries and to other nations, but that even in
our own land they Arill be rendered more general and
more equable ; so that we shall not see before us
always, as now, countrymen of our own living, in our
very midst, a life worse than that of a savage ; neither
enjoying the rough advantages and real, though rude,
pleasures of savage life, nor yet availing themselves of
the far higher and more noble opportunities which lie
within the reach of civilised Man.

APPENDIX.

ON THE PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF MAN.

PART I.

Beinq the Substance of a Paper read before the British

Association at Dundee.

SIDE by side with the different opinions as to the origin of
man, there are two opposite views with reference to the
primitive condition of the first men, of first beings worthy to
be so called. Many writers have considered that man was at
first a mere savage, and that the course of history has on the
whole been a progress towards civilisation ; though at times
— and at some times for centuries — some races have been sta-
tionary, or even have retrograded. (Dther authors, of no less
eminence, have taken a diametrically opposite view. Ac-
cording to them, man was, from the commencement, pretty
much what he is at present ; if possible, even more ignorant
of the arts and sciences than now, but with mental qualities
not inferior to our own. Savages they consider to be the de-
generate descendants of far superior ancestors. Of the recent
supporters of this theory, the late Archbishop of Dublin was
amongst the most eminent.

Dr. Whately enunciates his opinions in the following
words : ' —

' We have no reason to believe that any community ever
' did or ever can emerge, unassisted by external helps, from a
'state of utter barbarism unto anything that can be called

> AVhutcly's Political Eoouoniy, \). 68.
I I

482

LIFFWULTY OF OBTAINING

* civilisation.' ' Man has not emerged from the savage state ;
'the progress of any commanity in civilisation, by its own in-

* ternal means, must always have begun from a condition re-
' moved from that of complete barbarism, out of which it does

* not appear that men ever did or can raise themselves.'

Thus, he adds, ' the ancient Germans, who cultivated corn

* — though their agricidture was probably in a very rude
' state — who not only had numerous herds of cattle, but

* employed the labour of brutes, and even made use of cavalry
' in their wars . . . these cannot with propriety be reckoned
'savages; or if they are to be so cal! 'd (for it is not worth
'while to dispute about a word), then I w^nld admit that, in
' this sense, men may advance, and in fact have advanced, by
'their own unassisted efforts, from the savage to the civilised
' state.' This limitation of the term ' savage ' to the very
lowest representatives of the human race no doubt renders Dr.
Whately's theory more tenable by increasing the difficulty of
bringing forward conclusive evidence against it. The Arch-
bishop, indeed, expresses himself throughout his argument as
if it would be easy to produce the required evidence in opposi-
tion to his theory, supposing that any race of savages ever had
raised themselves to a state of civilisation. The manner,
however, in which he has treated the case of the Mandans — a
tribe of North American Indians — effectually disposes of this
hypothesis. This unfortunate people is described as having
been decidedly more civilised than those by which they were
surrounded. Having, then, no neighbours more advanced than
themselves, they were quoted as furnishing an instance of
savages who had civilised themselves without external aid. In
answer to this. Archbishop Whately asks —

' 1st. How do we know that these Mandans were of the
' same race as their neighbours ? '

' 2ndly.* How do we know that theirs is not the original

* level from which the other tribes have fallen ? '

' 3rdly and lastly. Supposing that the Mandans did emerge
' from the savage state, how do we know that this may not

* have been through the aid of some strangers coming among
" them — like the Manco-Capae of Peru — from some more civi-
•' iised country, perhaps long before the days of Columbus ? '

COXCLUSl VE EVIDESCE.

•183

Supposing, however, for a nioinent, and for the sake of argu-
ment, that the Mandans, 'or any other race, were originally
savages and had civilised themselves, it would still be mani-
festly — from the very nature of the case — impossible to bring
forward the kind of evidence demanded by Dr. Whately. No
doubt he ' may confidently affirm that we find no one recorded
' instance of a tribe of savages, properly so styled, rising into
'a civilised state without instruction and assistance from a
' people already civilised.' Starting with the proviso that
savages, properly so styled, are ignorant of letters, and laying
it down as a condition that no civilised example should be
placed before them, the existence of any such record is an im-
possibility ; its very presence would destroy its value. In
another passage. Archbishop Whately says, indeed, *If man

* generally, or some particular race, be capable of sclf-civilisa-

* tion, in either case it may be expected that some record, or
'ti'adition, or monuuient of the actual occurrence of such an
' event- should be found.' So far from this, the existence of
any such record would, according to the very hypothesis itself,
be impossible. Tradicions are short-lived and untrustworthy.
A * monument ' which could prove the actual occurrence of a
race capable of self-civilisation I confess myself unable to
conceive. What kind of a monument would the Archbishop
accept as proving that the people by whom it was made had
been originally savages, that they had raised themselves, and
had never been influenced by strangers of a superior race ?

But, says Archbishop Whately, ' We have accounts of
' various savage tribes, in different parts of the globe, who
' have been visited from time to time at considerable intervals,
' but have had no settled intercourse with civilised people, and

* who appear to continue, as far as can be ascertained, in the
' same uncultivated condition ; ' and he adduces one case, that
of the New Zealanders, who ' seem to have been in quite as

* advanced a state when Tasman discovered the country in
' 1642 as they were Avhen Cook visited it one hundred and
' twenty-seven years after. We have been accustomed to see
around us an improvement so rapid that we forget how short a
period a century is in the history of the human race. P>en
taking the ordinary chronology, it is evident, that if in 6,000

I I 2

484 THE STATIONARY COXDITION OF SAVAGES

years a given race has only progressed from a state of utter
savagery to the condition of the Australian, we could not
expect to find much change in one more century. Many a
fishing village,, even on our own coast, is in very nearly the
same condition as it was one hundred and twenty-seven years
ago. Moreover, I might fairiy answer that, according to
Whately's own definition of a savage state, the New Zealanders
would certainly be excluded. They cultivated the ground,
they had domestic animals, they constructed elaborate fortifi-
cations and made exceilent canoes, and were certainly not in a
state of utter barbarism. Or I might argue that a short visit,
like that of Ti'sman, could giv>^ little insight into the true
condition of a people. I am, however, the less disposed to
question the statement made by Archbishop Whatelj-, because
the fact that many races are now practically stationary is, in
reality, an argument against the theory of degradation, and
not against ^hat of progress. Civilised races are, I believe,
the descendants of ancestors who were once in a state of bar-
barism. On the contrary, argue our opponents, savages are
the descendants of civilised nations, and have sunk to their
present condition. But Archbishop Whately admits that the
civilised races are still rising, while the savages are stationary ;
and, oddly enough, S3ems to regard this as an argiiment in
support of the very untenable proposition, that the difference
between the two is due, not to the progress of the one set of
races — a prOjijress which everyone admits — but to the degrada-
tion of those whom he himself maintain? to be stationary.
The delusion is natural, and like that which everyone must
have sometimes experienced in looking out of a train in
motion, when the woods and fields seem to be flying from us,
whereas we know that in reality we are moving and they are
.•stationary.

'>ut it is argued, ' If man, when first created, was left, like
' the brutes, to the unaided exercise of those natural powers of

* body and mind which are common to tlie Kuropean audio

* the New Hollander, how comes it that the European is not
' now in the condition of the New Hollander ? ' The answer
to this is, I think, (he following: — In the first place, Australia
j)ij)s?esses neither cereals nor a.iv animals a hich can be domes-

NO EVIDENCE OF EARLIER CIVILISATION. 485

ticated with advantage ; and in the second, we find even in the
same family — among children of the same parents — the most
opposite dispositions ; in the same nation there are families of
high character, and others in which every member is more or
less criminal. But in this case as in the last, the Archbishop's
argument, if good at all, is good against his own view. It is
like an Australian boomerang, which recoils upon its owner.
The Archbishop believed in the unity of the human race, and
argued that man was originally civilised (in a certain sense).

* How comes it, then,' I might ask him, ' that the New

* Hollander is not now in tlie condition of the European?' In
another passage. Archbishop Whately quotes, with approba-
tion, a passage from President Smith, of the College of New
Jersey, who says that man, ' cast out an orphan of nature,
' naked and helpless, into the savage forest, must have perished
' before he could have learned how to supply his most inmie-
' diate and urgent wants. Supposing him to have been created,

* or to have started into being one knows not how, in the full

* strength of his bodily powers, how long must it have been
' before he could have known the proper use of his limbs, «»r
'how to apply them to climb the ir"e!'&c. &c. Exactly the
same, howevt^r, might be said of the gorilla or the chimpanzee,
which certainly are not the degraded de.-cendants of civilised
ancestors.

Having thus very briefly considered the arguments brouglit
forward by Archbishop Whately, I will proceed t<» state, also
very briefly, some facts whicli, I think, support the view here
advocated.

Firstly, I will endeavour to show tliat there are indications
of progress even among savages.

Secondly, that among the most civilised nations there are
traces of original barl)ari>Mi.

The Archbishop sii))p()S("s tliat men were, (Voni tlic; beginning,
herdsmen and cultivators. NN'c know, however, that the
Australians, North and South Americans, and sev(>ral other
more or less savage races, li\ing in counlries eminent ly suited
to our domestic animals and to tlu; cultivation of cereals, were
yet entirely ignorant both of the one and tin- other. It is, 1
think, imja-obable that any race of men who had once bceu

48G

EVIDENCE DERIVABLE FROM

•

agriculturists and herdsmen should entirely abandon pursuits
so easy and advantageous ; and it is still more likely that, if
we accept Usher's very limited chronology, aU tradition of
such a change should be lost. Moreover, even if in (he course
of time the descendants of the present colonists in (say) America
or Australia were to fall into such a state of barbarism, still
herds of wild cattle, descended from those imported, would
probably continue to live in those countries ; and even if these
were exterminated, their skeletons would testify to their pre-
vious existence ; whereas, we know that not a single bone of
the ox or of the domestic sheep has been found either in
Australia or in America. The same argument applies to the
horse, since the fossil of South America did not belong to the
same species as our domestic race. So, again, in the case of
plants. We do not know tha t any of our cultivated cereals would
survive in a wild state, though it is highly probable that,
perhaps in a modified form, the^' Avould do so. But there
are many other plants which follow in the train of man, and
by which the botany of South America, Australia, and New
Zealand has been almost as profoundly modified as their
ethnology has been by the arrival of the white man. The
Maoris have a mehmcholy proverb, that the JMaoris disappear
before the white man, just as the white man's rat destroys the
nati\ e rat, the European fly drives away the native fly, and
the clover kills the New Zealand fern.

A very interesting paper on this subject, by Dr. Hooker,
whose authority no one will question, is contained in the
'Natural History Review ' for 1864: — 'In Australia and New
' Zealand, he says, * for instance, the noisy train of English
' emigration is not more surely doing its work than the steaUhy

* tide of English weeds, which are creeping over the surface of
'the waste, cultivated, and virgin soil, in annually increasing
' numbers of genera, species, and individuals. Apropos of
'this subject, a correspondent, W. T. LoeVe Travers, Esq.,

* F.L.S., a most active New Zealand botanis', writing from

* Canterbury, says, "You would be surprised at the rai)i(l
' " spread of Euroj)ean and foreign plants in this country. All
' " along the sides of the main lines of road tlirough the plains,
'"a Poh/i/tniinn i<trituila)u>)^ calh'd cow-grass, grows most

'"dia
< " to 1
'"of

r !fl

-DOMESTIC AXIMALS AXD rOTTERY.

4«;

* " luxuriantly, the roots sometimes two feet in depth, and the
*" plants spreading over an area from four to five feet in

* " diameter. The dock {Rumex ohtusifolins or R. ci'ispvs) is

* " to be found in every river-bed, extending into the valleys
*"of the mountain-rivers, until these become mere torrents.
'"The sow-thistle is spread .all over the country, growing
' " luxuriantly nearly up to 6,000 feet. The watercress in-
' " creases in our still rivers to such an extent as to threaten
'"to choke them altogether."' The cardoon of the Argentine
Eepublics is another remarkable instance of the same fact.
We may therefore safely assume that if Australia, New
Zealand, or South America had ever been peopled by n race of
herdsmen and agriculturists, the fauna and flora of those
countries would almost inevitably have given evidence of the
fact, and differed much from the condition in which they were
discovered.

We may also assert, as a general proposition, that no
weapons or implements of metal have ever been found in
any country inhabited by savages wholly ignorant of metal-
lurgy. A still stronger case is afforded by pottery. Pottery
is very indestructible ; when used at all, it is always abundant,
and it possesses two qualities — those, namely, of being easy to
break and yet difficult to destroy, which render it very valuable
in an archfcological point of view. Moreover it is, in most
cases, associated with burials. It is therefore a very signifi-
cant fact, that no fragment of pottery has ever been found in
Australia, New Zealand, or the Polynesian Islands. It seems
to me extremely improbable that an art so easy and so useful
should ever have been lost by any race of men. Moreover,
this argument applies to several other arts and instruments. I
will mention only two, though several others might be brought
forward The art of spinning and the use of th^ bow are
(|uite unknown to many races of savages, and yet would
hardly be likely to have been abandoned, when onoo known.
The absence of architectural remains in these countries is
another argument. Archbishop W'hatcly, indeed, claims this
as being in his fr.vour; but the absence of monuments in a
country is surely indicative of barbarism, and not of civilisa-
tion.

488 INDICATIONS OF PRO GEE SS AMONG SAVAGES.

The mental condition ox savages also seems to me to sp-^^ak
strongly against the * degrading ' theory. Not only do the
religions of the lower races appear to be indigenous, but, as
already shown ' — according to many trustworthy witnesses,
merchants, philosophers, naval men, and missionaries alike —
there are many rices of men who are altogether destitute of a
religion. The cases are, perhaps, less numerous than they are
asserted to be ; but some of them rest on good evidence. Yet
I feel it difficult to believe that any people who once possessed
any belief which can fairly be called a religion would ever en-
tirely lose it. Kellgion appeals so strongly to the hopes and
fears of men, it takes so deep a hold on most minds, in its higher
forms it is so great a consolation in times of sorrow and sick-
ness, that I can hardly think any nation would ever abandon
it altogether. INIoreover, it produces a race of men who are
interested in maintaining its influence and authority. If, there-
fore, we find a race which is now practically without religion, I
cannot but assume that it has always been so.

The character of the religious belief of savage races, as I
have elsewhere'-^ attempted to show, points strongly to the
same conclusion. I am glad to find that so acute a reasonor
as Mr. Bagehot is satisfied by the evidence which lias been
brought forward on this point. ' Clearly,' he says,^ ' if all
' early men unanimously, or even much the greater numl)er
*of early men, had a religion lulthout omens, no religion, or

♦ scarcely a religion anywhere in the world, could have come

* into existence with omens.'

It seems also impossible to understand how races which
have retained the idea of a heaven should have lost that of a
hell, supposing they had ever possessed one.

I will now pntceed to mention a few cases in which some
improvement does appear to have taken place, though, as a
general rule, it may be observed that the contact of two races
tends to depress rather than to raise the lower one. Accord-
ing to Macgillivray, the Australians of Port Essington, who,
lik'j all theii fellow-countrymen, had formerly bark-canoes
only, have now completely abandoned them for others hollowed

out o

The i

duced

had ji

Wajij.

when

place,

Tahiti

canni

' A/itv, J), 201 ; mill T'rt'lnVtoric
Times, 2\u\ ml. ]>. .'id I.

-' Atiii\ p. 376.

' riiVHicH Hiid Polilirs, p. 13.*?,

SAVAGES NOT INCAPABLE OF CIVILISATION. 4S1)

out of the trunk of a tree, which they buy from the Malays.
The inhabitants of the Andaman Islands have recently intro-
duced outriggers. The Bachapins, when visited by Burchell,
had just commenced working iron. According to Burton, the
Wajiji negroes have recently learned to make brass. In Tahiti,
when visited by Captain Cook, the largest morai, or burial-
place, was that erected for the then reigning queen. The
Tahitians, also, had then very recently abandoned the habit of
cannibalism.

The natives of Celebes, whose bnmboo houses are very liable
to be blown down, have discovered that if they fix some crooked
timbers in the sides of the house it is less likely to fall. Ac-
cordingly they chop ' the crookedest they cau find, but they
' do not know the rationale of the contrivance, and have not
' hit on the idea that straight poles fixed slanting would have
' the same effect in making the structure rigid.' '

Farrer ^ mentions the following cases : * The Comanche

* Indians of Texas, among whom "Christianity had never been in-

* " troduced," abolished in consequence of their intercourse with

* tribes less savage than themselves, the inhuman custom of kill-

* incf a favourite wife at her husband's funeral. Mariner was
' himself a witness of the abolition on the Togan Islands of the
' custom of strangling the wife of the great Tooitonga chief at

* his death.

' Bianswah the great Chippewya chief, put a stop, by a treaty
'of peace with the Sioux, to the horrible practice of burning

* prisoners alive ; and, though the peace between the tribes was
'often l)roken, their compact in this respect was never violated.

• •«••••••••«

'Thus the Nootka Indians, who used to conclude their
' hunting festivals with a human sacrifice, subsequently changed
' the custom into the more lenient one of sticking a boy with
'knives in various parts of his body. 1'lie Zulus iibolished the
'custom of killing slaves with a chief, to prepare food and other
' things for him in the next world, so that now it is only a

' Wallace's Jliiliiy Aroliijielapj, ■ Primifivr Mduntrs (iml Cu/itoms,

quoted in Tylor's Priii'itivo Cullurr, 15y T. A. iarrcr, j>p. Itl ami 1".
vol. i. p. .'iO.

5:|,

490 SAVAGES NOT INCAPABLE OF CIVILTSATTON

' tradition with them that formerly, when a chief died, he did not
* die alone.'

Sha-gwaw-koo-sink, an Ottawwaw, who lived at the be-
ginning of this century, first introduced the cultivation of
corn among the Ojibbeways.' INIoreover, there are certain
facts which speak for themselves. Some of the American
races cultivated the potato. Now, the potato is an American
plant, and we have here, therefore, clear evidence of a step
in advance made by these tribes. Again, the Peruvians had
domesticated the llama. Those who believe in the diversity of
species of men may argue that the Peruvians had domestic
llamas from the beginning. Archbishop Whately, however,
would not take this line. He would, I am sure, admit that the
first settlers in Peru had no llamas, nor, indeed, any other
domestic animal, excepting, probably, the dog. The bark-cloth
of the Polynesians is another case in point. Tyler says the
present usage in Australia is considerably in advance of ancient
rule.'^ Another very strong case is the boomerang of the
Australians. This weapon is known to no other race of men.^
We cannot look on it as a relic of primeval civilisation, or it
would not now be confined to one race only. The Australians
cannot have learnt it from any civilised visitors, for the same
re.Hson. It is, therefore, as it seems to me, exactly the case we
want, and a clear proof of a step in advance — a small one, in-
deed, but still a step made by a people whom Archbishop
"NVhately would certainly admit to be true savages. The
Cherokees afford a remarkable instance of progress, and indeed
— alone among the North American hunting races — have really
become agriculturists. As long ago as 1825, with a population
of 14,000, they possessed 2,923 ploughs, 7,683 horses, 22,500
black cattle, 46,700 pigs, and 2,566 sheep. They had 49 mills,
69 blacksmiths' shops, 762 looms, and 2,486 spinning-wheels.

' Tanner's Nnrmtive, p. 180.

^ Anthr. Journal. 8vo. p. 354.

" With one doubtful pxcoption. Tho
ftni'ient Egyptians used a curved stick
to tlirow at birds, ' but in no instanoo
' had it tho round shape and fliglit of I ho
' Australian boomerang.' Wilkinson's
Anoipiit Egyptians, vol. i. p. 23'), Jaiir
J'"ox. h(MVt'Vir, assures us thai a f'. -

simile of the Egyptian weapon in the
B. M., possessed all the properties ot'
tho Australian boomerang, rcturninu:
when thrown to within a few paees of
the position from which it was thrown.
This may be so, Imt wo have no evi-
dence whatever tliat if was rrnlly so
used. Jane Fo.\, Jour. Anthr. Inst.
187:». p. 4 15.

INDIGEXOUS ORIGIN OF MEXICAN CIVILISATION. 4lil

/
'»-i

They kept slaves, having captured several hundred negroes in
Carolina. Nay, one of them, a man of the name of Sequoyah,
invented a system of letters which, as far as the Cherokee lan-
guage is concerned, is better than ours. Cherokee contains
twelve consonants and tive vowels, with a nasal sound ' ung.*
Thus, combining each of the twelve consonants with e.ach of
the six vowels, and adding the vowels which occur singly, but
omitting any sign for ' mung,' as that sound does not occur in
Cherokee, he required seventy-seven characters, to which he
added eight — representing the sounds s, ka, hna, nah, ta, te, ti,
tla — making altogether eighty-five characters. The alphabet,
as already mentioned, is superior to ours. The characters are
indeed more numerous, but, when once learnt, the pupil can
read at once. It is said that a boy can learn to read Cherokee,
when thus expressed, in a few weeks ; while, if ordinary letters
were used, two years would be required. Obviously, however,
this alphabet is not applicable to other languages.

The rude substitutes for writing found among other tribes
— the wampum of the North American Indians, the picture-
writing and quippu of Central America — must also be regarded
as of native origin. In the case of the system of letters
invented by Mohammed Doalu, a negro of the Vei country,
in West Africa, the idea was no doubt borrowed from the
missionaries, although it was worked out independently. In
other cases, however, I think this cannot be. Take that
of the Mexicans. Even if we suppose that they were de-
scended from a primitively civilised race, and had gradually
and completely lost both the use and tradition of letters
— to my mind, a most improbable hypothesis — still we must
look on their system of picture-writing as being of American
origin. Even if a system of writing by letters could ever
be altogether lost, which I doubt, it certainly would not
be abandoned for that of picture-writing, which is inferior
in every point of view. If the Mexicans had owed their
civilisation, not to their own gradual improvement, but to the
influence of some European visitors, driven by stress of weather
or the pursuit of adventure on to their coasts, we should have
found in their system of writing, and in other respects, unmis-
takable proofs of such an influence. Altlmngh, therefore, we

492 rnOOKESS AS INDICATED IJY LANGUAGE.

ftfi'

have no historical proof that the civih'sation of America was
iiuligenous, we have in its very character evidence more satis-
factory perhaps than any historical statements would be. The
same argument may be derived from the names used for num-
bers by savages. I feel great difficulty in supposing that any
race which had learned to count up to ten would ever unlearn
a piece of knowledge so easy and yet ho useful. Yet, as has
already been pointed out, few, perhaps none, of those whom
Archbishop Whately would call savages can count so far.

In many cases, where the system of numeration is at present
somewhat more advanced, it bears on it the stamp of native
and recent origin. Among civilised nations the derivations
of the numerals have long since been obscured by the gradual
modification which time effects in all words — especially those
in frequent use, and before the invention of prir ting. And if
the numerals of savages were relics of a former civilisation, the
waifs and strays saved out of the general wreck, they would
certainly have suffered so much from the wear and tear of
constant use, and their derivations would be obscured or wholly
undiscoverable, instead of which they are often perfectly clear
and obvious, especially among races whose arithmetical attain-
ments are lov/est. These numerals, then, are recent, because
they are uncorrupttd ; and they are indigenous, because they
have an evident meaning in the language of the tribes by whcnn
they are used.'

Again, as I have already pointed out,"'^ many savage languages
are entirely deficient in such words as 'colour,' 'tone,' ' tree,'
&c., having names for each kind of colour, every species t»t
tree, but not for the geiiend idea. T can hardly ii: igiho a
nation losing such words if it had once possessed t^enl.

Other similar evidence might be extracted from the language
of savage^ ; and arguments of this nature are entitled to more
weight than statements of travellers, as to the oljects found
in use among savages. Suppose, for instance, that an enrly
traveller mentioned the absenc<! of some art or knowledge
among a rac(^ vis'ted by him, and that later ones found the
natives in possession of it. INFost people would hesitate to

' Hi'o Chapter IX. Tliis urgunu'iit
M'liuld lie conclusive -were if not tlial

now words iiro coiiuMl from ;iinp to time
ill ii!l liiiij,MiJ.gtis. ■■' Cii. IX.

TRACES OF LAIiBAEISM IX CIVILISED COUNTRIES. 498

receive this as a clear evidence of progress, and rathar be
disposed to suspect that later travellers, with perhaps better
opportunities, had seen what their predecessors had overlooked.
This is no hypothetical case. The early Spanish writers assert
that the inhabitants of the Ladrone Islands were ignorant of
the use of fire. Later travellers, on fhe contrary, find them
perfectly well acquainted with it. They have, therefore,
almost unanimously assumed, not that the natives had made a
step in advance, but that the Spaniards had made a mistake ;
and I have not brought this case forward in opposition to the
assertions of Whately, because I am inclined to be of this
opinion myself. I refer to it here, however, as showing how
difficult it would be to obtain satisfactory evidence of material
progress among savages, even admitting that such exists. The
arguments derived from language, however, are liable to -o
such suspicions, bv.o tell their own tale, and leave us at liberty
to draw our own conclusions.

I will now very briefly refer to certain considerations which
seem to show that even the most civilised races were once in a
state of barbarism. Not only throughout Europe — not only in
Italy and Greece — but even in the so-called cradle of civilisa-
tion itself, in Palestine and Syria, in Egypt and in India, the
traces of a stone age have been discovered. It may indeed be
said that these were only the fragments of those stone knives,
&c., which we know were used in religious ceremonie s long after
metal was in general use for secular purposes. This, indeed,
resembles the attempt to account for the presence of elephants'
bones in England by supposing that they ,»"ere the remains of
elephants which might have been brought over by the Romans.
But why were stone knives used by the Egyptian and Jewish
priests ? evidently because they had been at one time in general
use, and a fejling of respect made the priest reluctant to
introduce a new substance into religious ceremonies.

There are, moreover, other considerations ; for instance, tlu;
gradual improvement in the relation between the sexes, and
the development of correct ideas on the subject of relationship,
seem to me strongly to point to the same conclusion.

In the publications of the Nova Scotian ' Institute of Na-
*tuval Science' is an interesting paper, l)y Mr. Haliburton, on

494

UNITY OF THE HUMAN BACH.

' The Unify of tLc Human Kace, proved by the universality

* of certain superstitions connected with sneezing.' ' (Jnce
' establisii ' he says, ' that a large number of arbitrary customs
' — such as could not have naturally suggested themselves to
' all men at all times — are imiversally observed, and we arrive
' at the conclusion that they are primitive customs which nave
' been inherited from a common source, and, if inherited, that

* they owe their origin to an era anterior to the dispersion of

* the human race.' To justify such a conclusion, the custom
must be demonstrably arbitrary. The belief that two and
two make four, the decimal system of numeration, and similar
coincidences, of course prove nothing; but I very much doubt
the existence of any universal, or even general, custom of a
clearly arbitrary character . The fact is, that many things ap-
pear to us arbitrary and strange because we live in a condition
so different from that in which they originated. Many things
seem natural to a savage which to us appear absurd and un-
accountable.

Mr. Haliburton brings forward, as his strongest case, tlie
habit of saying ' God bless you ! ' or some equivalent expres-
sion, when a person sneezes. He sIkjws that this custom,
which, I admit, appears to us at first sight both odd and arbi-
trary, is ancient and widely extended. It is mentioned by
Homer, Aristotle, Apnlcius, IMiuy, iiiii) Die Jewish rabbis, and
has been observed among the Negroes antl Kaffirs'; in Kuonlis-
tan, in Florida, in Otaheite, in New Zealand, and the Tonga
Islands.

It is not arbitrary, however, and it does not, therefore, conic
under his rule. A belief in invisible beings is very general
among savages; and while they think it unnecessary to account
for blessings, they attribute any misfortune to the ill-will of
these mysterious beings. Many savages regard disease as u
case of possession. In cases of illness they do not suppose
that the organs are themselves attected, but that they are being
devoured by a god ; hence their medicine-men do not try to cure
the disease, but to extract the demon. Some tribes have a
distinct deity for every ailment. The Australians do not be-
lieve in natural death. When a man dies, they take it for
granted that he has been destroyed by witchcraft, and the only

Again,
* eipiator
' specti/i^
' ceedi

MENTAL DIFFERENCES IN DIFFERENT RACES. 405

doubt is, who is the culprit ? Now, a people in this state of
mind — and we know that almost every race of men is passing,
or has passed, through this stage of development — seeing a
man sneeze, would naturally, and almost inevitably, suppose
that he was attacked and shaken by some invisible being ;
equally natural is the impulse to appeal for aid to some other
invisible being more powerful than the first.^

Mr. Haliburton admits that a sneeze is *an omen of impending

* evil ; ' but it is more — it is evidence, which to the savage mind
would seem conclusive, that the sneezer was possessed by some
evil-disposed spirit ; evidently, therefore, this case, on whicli
Mr. Haliburton so much relies, is by no means an ' arbitrarv
' custom,' and does not, therefore, fulfil the conditions which he
himself laid down. He has incidentally brought forward some
other instances, most of which labour under the disadvantage
of proving too much. Thus, he instances the existence of a
festival in honour of the dead, ' at or near the beginning of
' November.' Such a feast is very general ; and, as there are
many more races holding such a festival than there are months
in the year, it is evident that, in several cases they must be
held together. But Mr. Haliburton goes on to say: 'The

* Spaniards were very naturally surprised at finding that, while
' they were celebrating a solemn mass for All Souls on
' November 22, the heathen Peruvians were also holding their
' annual commemoration of the dead.' This curious coinci-
dence would, ho'Tever, not only prove the existence of such a
festival, as he says, ' before the dispersion ' (which Mr. Hali-
burton evidently looks on as a definite event rather than as a
gradual process), but also that the ancestors of the Peruvians
were at that epoch sufficiently advanced to form a calendar, and
that their descendants were able to keep it unchanged down to
the present time. This however, we know was not the case.
Agiiin, Mr. Haliburton says: 'The belief in Scotland and
' equatorial Africa is found to be almost precisely identical re-
'specling there being ghosts, even of the living, who are ex-
'ceedingly troublesome and pugnacious, and can be sometimes
' killed by a silver bullet.' Here we certainly have what seems

' I iiin glad to see that Mr. Herbert Spencer aureus witli mc in tliis, See
Principles of Suciulogy. p. 246.

??•■

49G SIMILAR IDEAS IN DIFFERENT RACES.

at first sight to be an arbitrary belief; but if it proves that
there was a belief in ghosts of the living before the dispersion,
it also proves that silver bullets were then in use. This illus-
tration is, I think a very interesting one ; because it shows
that similar ideas in distant countries owe their origin, not ' to

* an era before the dispersion of the human race,' but to the
fundamental similarity of the human mind. While I do not
believe that similar customs in different nations are * inherited

* from a common source,' or are necessarily primitive, I certainly
do see in them an argument for the unity of the human race,
which however (be it remarked), is not necessarily the same
thing as the descent from a single pair.

On the other hand, I have attempted to show that ideat^,
which might at first sight appear arbitrary and unaccountable,
arise naturally in very distinct nations as they arrive at a
similar stage of progress ; and it is necessary, therefore, to be
extremely cautious in using such customs or ideas as implying
any special connection between different races of men.

PART II. >

At the Dundee meeting of the British Association I had the
honour of reading a paper ' On the Origin of Civilisation and
' the Primitive Condition of Man,' in answer to certain opinions
and arguments brought forward by the late Archbishop of
Dublin. The views therein advocated met with little opposi-
tion at the time. The then Presidents of the Ethnological
and Anthropological Societies both expressed their concurrence
in the conclusions at which I arrived ; and the Memoir was
printed in extenso by the Association. It has, however, subse-
quently been attacked at some length by the Duke of Argyll ; ■^
and as the Duke has in some cases strangely misunderstood me,
and in others (I am sure unintentionally) misrepresented my
views — as, moreover, the subject is one of great interest and

' The substance of this was read
before the British Association during
tlicir mooting at Exeter in 18G"J.

* Good words : March, April, May,
and June, 1868, Also since republished
in a separate form.

BTMAXA AXD (jUADTfrMAXA.

497

importance — T am anxious to make some remarks in reply to
his Grace's criticisms. The Duke has divided his work into
four chapters: — I. Introduction; II. The Origin of ^lan ;
III. and IV. His Primitive Condition.

I did not, in my first jMemoir, nor do I now, propose to
discuss the subjects dealt with in the first half of the Duke's

* Speculations.' I will only observe that in attacking Professor
Huxley for proposing to unite the Bimana and (^uadruman.a
in one Order, ' Primates,' the Duke uses a dangerous argu-
ment ; for if, on account of his great mental superiority over
the Quadrumana, ]Man forms an Order or even Class by him-
self, it will be impossible any longer to regard all men as
belonging to one species or even genus. The Duke is in
error when he supposes that ' mental powers and instincts '
afford tests of easy application in other parts of the animal
kingdom. On the contrary, genera with the most different
mental powers and instincts are placed, not only in the same
order, but even in the same family. Thus our most learned
hymenopterologist (Mr. Frederick Smith) classes the hive-bee,
the humble-bee, and the parasitic apathus in the same sub-
family of Apidfe. It seems to me, therefore, illogical to separ-
rate man zoologically from the other primates on the ground of
his mental superiority, and yet to maintain the specific unity
of the human race, notwithstanding the mental differences
between different races of men.

I do not, however, propose to discuss the origin of man,
and pass on therefore at once to the Duke's third chapter ; and
here I congratulate myself at the outset that the result of my
paper has been to satisfy him that ' Whately's argument,'

* though strong at some points, is at others open to assault, and
' that, as a whole, th*^ subject now requires to be differently
' handled, and regarded from a different point of view.' ' I do

* not, therefore,' he adds in a subsequent page,'^ ' agree with
' the late Archbishop of Dublin, that we are entitled to assume
'it as a fact that, as regards the mechanical arts, no savage
' race luis ever raised itself.' And again : ^ ' The aid which
' man had from his Creator may possibly have been nothing

* more than the aid of a body and of a mind, so marvellously

' Good Words, .Tune, 1808, p. lofi. ■ Ihiil. p. 38r>. » p^ 392.

K ^\

iOS

THE WEAPONS OF MONKEYS.

* endowed that tl.ought was an instinct and contrivance a

* necessity.'

I feel, however, less satisfaction on this account than would
otherwise have been the case, because it seems to me that,
though the Duke acknowledges the Archbishop's argument to
be untenable, he practically reproduces it with but a slight
alteration and somewhat protected by obscurity. What
Whately called * instruction ' the Duke terms ' instinct ; ' and
he considers that man had instincts which afforded all that was
necessary as a starting-ground. He admits, however, that
mcnkeys use stones to break nuts ; he might have added th;it
the} throw sticks and stones .it intruders. But he says,
' Hetween these rudiments of intellectual perception and the
' next step (that of adapting an 1 fashioning an instrument for
'a particular purpose) there is a gulf in which 'i( the whole

* immeasurable distance between man and brutes.' I cannot
agree with the Duke in this opinion ; nor indeed does he agree
with himself, for he adds, in the very same page, that — ' The
' wielding of a stick is, in all probability, an act equally of
' primitive intuition, and from this to throwing of a stick and
' the use of javelins is an ea.-^y and natural transition.'

He continues as follows : — ' (Simple as these acts arc, they

* involve both physical and mental powers which are capable of

* all the developments which we see in tlie most advanced in-
dustrial arts. These acts involve the instinctive idea of the

* constancy of natural causes and the capacity of thought,
' which gives men the conviction that what has happened under

* given cfmditions will, under the same conditions, always occur

* again.' On these, Ik^ says, ' as well as on other grounds, I
have never attached much importance to Whately's argument.'

These are indeed important admissions, and amount to a virtual
abandonment of Whately's position.

The Duke blames the Archbishop of Dublin for not having
defined iho terms ' civilisation ' ami 'barbarism.' It seems to
me thnt Whately illustrated his meaning better by examples
than he could have done by any definition. The Duke does
not seem to have felt any practical dilliculty from tin; onu's-
sion ; and it is remarkable that, after all, he liimself omits lo
dcline the terms, thus being himself guilly of <lie very imu^^-

TRUE NATURE OF UAimARISM.

4'J'J

sion for which he blames Whatelv. In truth, it would be
ircpossible in a few words to define the complex organisation
which we call civilisation, or to state in a few words how a
civilised differs from a barbarous people. Indeed, to define
civilisation as it should be is turely as yet impossible, since we
are far from having solved the problem how we may best avail
ourselves of our opportunities, and enjoy the beautiful world in
which we live.

As regards barbarism, the Duke observes : ' All I desire to
' point out here is, that there is no necessary connection

* between a state of mere childhood in respect to knowledge
' and a state of utter barbarism, words which, if they have any

* definite meaning at all, imply the lowest moral as well as tlui
' lowest intellectual condition.' To every proposition in this
remarkable sentence I entirely demur. There is, I think, a
very intimate connection between knowledge and civilisation.
Knowledge and barbarism cannot coexist — knowledge and
civilisation are inseparable.

Again, the words 'utter barbarism ' have certainly a very
definite signification, but as certainly, I think, not Ihat which
the Duke attribute j to them. The lowest moral and the
lowest intellectual condition are not only, in my opinion, not
inseparable, they are not even compatible. JNIorality implies
responsibility, and consequently intelligence. The lower
animals are neither moral nor immoral. The lower races of
men may be, and are, vicious ; but allowances must be made
for them. On the contrary [corriiptlo opt'nnl, penHirita f.sf), the
higher the mental power, the more splendid the intelleciual
endowment, the d(»eper is the moral degradation of him who
wastes the one and abuses the other.

On the whole, the fair inference seems to lie that savages are
more innocent, and yet more criminal, than civilised races ;
they are by no means in the hnvest possible moral condition, nor
are they capable of the higher virtues.

In the first part of this paper I laid much stress >)n the fact
that even in the most civilised nations we find (races of e;irly
barbarism. The Duke maintains, on the emitrary, I hat, tlieso
traces alford no proof, or even presumption, that barbarism was
the primeval conditit)n of man. He urges that all such customs

^oo

SEQUENCE OF CUSTOMS.

nil

may have been not primeval, but mediaeval ; and he continues :

* Yet this assumption runs through all Sir J. Lubbock's argu-
' ments. Wherever a brutal or savage custom prevails, H is

* regarded as a sample of the original condition of mankind.

* And this in the teeth of facts which prove tliat many of such
' customs not only may have been, but must have been, the

* result of corruption.'

Fortunately, it is unnecessary for me to defend myself
against this criticism, because in the very next sentence the
Duke directly contradicts himself, and shows that I have not
done that of which he accuses me. He continues his argument
thus : — ' Take cannibalism as one of these. Sir J. Lubbock

* seems to admit that this loathsome practice was not primeval.'
Thus, by way of proof that I regard all brutal customs as
primeval, he states, and correctly states, that I do not regard
cannibalism as primeval. It would be difficult, I think, to find
a more curious case of self-contradiction.

The Duke refers particularly to the practice of Kride-
catching, which he states ' cannot possibly have been primeval.'
He omits, however, to explain why, from his point of view, it
could not have been so; and of course, assuming the word

* primeval ' to cover a period of some length, it would have
been interesting to know his reasons for this conclusion ; in
fact, however, it is not a case in point, because, as I have
attempted to show, marriage by capture was preceded by a
custom still more barbarous. It may, perhaps, however, be as
well to state emphatically that all brutal customs are not, in
my opinion, primeval. Human sacrifices, for instance, were, I
think, certainly not so.

My argument, however, was chat there is a definite sequence
of habits and ideas ; that certain customs (some brutal, others
not so) which we find lingering on in civilised communities
are a page of past history, and tell a tale of former barbarism ;
rather on account of their simplicity than of their brutality,
though many of them are brutal enough. Again, no one
would go l)ack from letter-writing to the use of the quippu or
hieroglyphics ; no would abandon the fire-drill and ol)tain
fire by liand-frictitm.

J3elievi'ig, as he docs, that the primitive condition of man

THE DIFFUSION OF MANKIND.

no I

was one of civilisation, the Duke accoimts for the existence of
savages by the remark that they are ' mere outcasts of the

* human race,' descendants of weak tribes which were * driven

* to the woods and rocks.' But until the historical period these

* mere outcasts ' occupied almost the whole of North and South
America, all Northern Europe, the greater part of Africa, the
great continent of Australia, a large part of Asia, and the
beautiful islands of the Pacific. Moreover, until modified by
man, the great continents were either in the condition of open
plains, such as heaths, downs, prairies, and tundras, or they
were mere ' woods and rocks.' Now everything tends to show
that mere woods and rocks exercised on the whole a favourable
influence. Inhabitants of great plains rarely rose beyond the
pastoral stage. In America the most advanced civilisation wiis
attained, not by the occupants of the fertile valleys, not along
the banks of the Mississippi or the Amazon, but among the
rocks and wuods of Mexico and Pern. Scotland itself is a,
brilliant proof that woods and rocks are compatible with a
high state of civilisation.

My idea of the manner in which, and the causes owing to
which, man spread over the earth, is very different from that
of the Duke. He evidently supposes that new countries have
been occupied by weak races, driven there by m( re powerful
tribes. This I believe to be an entirely erron'ous notion.
Take, for instance, our own island. We are sometimes told
that the Celts were driven by the Saxons into Wales and
Cornwall. On the contrary, however, we know that Wales
and Cornwall were both occupied long before the Saxons
landed on our shores. Even as regards the rest of the country,
it would not be correct to say that the ('olts were driven away ;
they were either destroyed or absorbed.

The gradual extension of the human race has not, in my
opinion, been effected by force acting on any given race from
without, but by inttrnal necessity and the pressure of popula-
tion ; by peaceful, not by hostile force ; by prosperity, not by
niisfortinie. I believe that of old, as now, founders of new
colonies were men of energy and enterprise, animated by hope
and courage, not by fear and despair; that they were, in short,
anything but mere outcasts of the human race.

r.()2 TJ[E INFLUENCE OF EXTERNA f, dONDITlONS.

The Duke relies a good deal on the ease of America. ' Is
' it not true,' he asks, ' that the lowest and rudest tribes in the

* population of the globe have been found in the furthest ex-
' tremities of its great continents, and in the distant islands
' which would be the last refuge of the victims of violence and

* misfortune ? " The new world " is the continent which

* presents the most uninterrupted stretch of habitable land
' from the highest northern to the lowest so'^ihern latitude.
' On the extreme north we have the Esquimaux, or Inuit race,
' maintaining human life under conditions of extremest hard-
' ship, even amid the perpetual ice of the Polar seas. And
' what a life it is ! Watching at the blow-hole of a seal for
'many hours, in a temperature of 75° below freezing point, is
' the constant work of the Inuit hunter. And when at last
Miis prf»y is struck, it is his luxury to feast upon the raw blood
' and bluliber. To civilised man it is hardly possible to con-
' ceive a life so wretched, and in many respects so brutal, as
' the b'fe led by this race during the long-lasting night of the
' Arctic winter.'

To this question I confidently reply, No, it is not true; it is
not true as a general proposition that the lowest races are
found furthest from the centres of continents; it is not true
in the particular case of America. The natirTS of Erazil,
possessing a country of almost unrivalled fertility, surrounded
by the most luxuriant vegetation, watered by magnificent
rivers, and aboimding in animal life, wer^ yet imquestionably
lower than the Esqiumaux,' wlioni the Duke pities and
depises so much.'^ He pities them, indtMMl, more than I think
the case requires. (»ur own sportsmen willingl}' undergo
great hardships in pursuit of game ; and hunting in earnest
must possess a kocu zest which it can never attain when it is a
mere sport.

' Sec .Mar ins, p. 77. Dr. Kiip ranks
tho Esquiiii:UiX ivbove the Uwl Iiuli;>iis.
Tnu\s. Kthii. SiH-. 1800. Miirtius uas
liimsi'lt lit Olio tmio of ojiiiiiou tlint the
linizilifins were (U'^cnornto, uiit liis* iii-
Tcstigiitiiinn finally led liini ti) the (i|i-
posito I'liiu'liLsioM. .Set' Nature, 1871,

lip. 110. 2(11.

'■i Wlion the Diiko states thiit
' ni'ilher an apriculluiMl nov [Mstonvl
' lifo is ()ussibhi un tho borders of ii
' frozen son.' he forgets for tho moment
the inlialiilants nf Lapland and nt'

.'^ililM'iu.

THE INFLUEXCE OF EXTERNAL COKDITTONS. ^08

' When we rise,' says Mr. Hill,' ' twice or thrice a day
' from a full meal, we cannot be in a right frame either of body

* or mind for the proper enjoyments of the chase. Our slug-
' gish spirits then want the true incentive to action, which

* should be hunger, with the hope before us of filling a craving
' stomach. I could remember once before being for a long
' time dependent upon the gun for food, and feeling a touch of
' the charm of a savage life (for every condition of humanity
*has its good as well as its evil), but never till now did I fully
' comprehend the attachment of the sensitive, not drowsy,
' Indian.'

Esquimaux life, indeed, as pauited by our Arctic voyagers
is by no means so miserable as the Duke supposes. Captain
Parry, for instance, gives the following picture of an Esquimaux
hut : — ' In the few opportunities we had in putting their hospi-
' tality to the test, we had every reason to be pleased with
' them. Both as to fooi and accomniodution, the l)est they had
' were always at oar service ; and their attention both in kind
' and degree, was everything that hospitality and even good
' breeding could dictate. The kindly offices of drying and
'mending our clothes, cooking our provisions and thawing
' snow for our drink, were performed by the women with an

* obliging cheerfulness 'which we shall not easily forget, and
'which demanded its due share of our adnnration and esteem.
'While thus their guest I have passed an evening not only witli
'comfort but with extreme gratification; for with the women
' working and singing, their husbands quietly mending their
' lines, the children playing before the door, and the pot boiling
'over the blaze of a cheerful lamp, one might well forget for
'the time that an Esquimaux hut was the scene of this do-
'mestic comfort and tranquillity ; and I can safely affirm with
' Cart Wright thac, while thus lodged beneath their roof, I know
' no people whom I would more confidently trust, as respects
' either my person or my property, *h;in the Es{iuimaux.' Dr.
Rae,^ who had ample means of jmlging, (ells us that tlie
Enstern Esquimaux ' are sober, steady, nnd fiiithful. . . .
'Provident to their own property, and careful of hat of others

> Trnve'.s in SiluTia, v.>l. ii, y, '288.

■•i Tmiis. Kill. SuL'. ISOC, p. i:iS.

504

THE ESQUIMAUX.

* when under their charge. . . . Socially they are a lively,

* cheerful and chatty people, fond of associating with each
' other and with strangers, with whom they soon become on
' friendly terms, if kindly treated. ... In their domestic

* relations they are exemplary. The man is an obedient son,
' a jood husband and a kind father. . . . The children

* when young are docile. . . . The girls have their dolls,

* in making dresses and shoes for which they amuse and employ
' themselves. The boys have miniature bows, arrows, and
' spears. . . . When grown up they are dutiful to their
' parents. . . . Orphan children are readily adopted and
' well cared for until they are able to provide for themselves.'
He concludes by saying, ' the more I saw of the Esquimaux
' the higher was the opinion I formed of them.'

Again, Hooper ' thus describes a visit to an Asiatic Esqui-
maux belonging to the Tuski race : ' Upon reaching Mooldoo-
' yah's habitation, we found Captain Moore installed at his
' ease, with every provision made for comfort and convenience.
' Water and venison were suspended over the lamps in prepa-
' ration for dinner; skins nicely arrt.nged for couches, and the
' hangings raised to admit the cool air ; our baggage was
' bestowed around us with care and in quiet, and we were free
to take our own way of enjoying such unobtrusive hospitality
without a crowd of eager gazers watching us like lions at
feed ; nor were we troubled by importunate begging such as
detracted from the dignity of jNIetra's station, which was
' undoubtedly high in the tribe.'

I know no sufficient reason for supposing that the Esqui-
maux were ever more advanced than they are now. The Duke,
indeed considers that before thpy were ' driven by wars and
' migrations ' (a somewhat curious expression) they ' may have
' been nonuids living on their flocks and herds ; ' and he states
broadly that ' the rigours of the region they ntnv inhabit huv(i
' reduced these people to the condition in which we now see
' them ; ' a conclusion for which I know no reason, particularly
as the Tinne and other Indians living to the south of the Esc^ui-
maux are ruder and more barbarous.

I( is my belief that the great continents were already occii-
' The Ti'iits tif lilt' 'I'liNki. p. 1(12.

ORIGINAL AND UNIVERSAL BAliBARISM.

5or.

pied by a widespread though sparse population when man was
no more advanced than the lowest savages of to-day; and
although I am far from believing that the various degrees of
civilisation which now occur can be altogether accounted for by
the external circumstances as they at present exist, still these
circumstances seem to me to throw much light on the very
different amount of progress which has been attained by dif-
ferent races.

In referring to the backwardness of the aboriginal Austra-
lians, I had observed that New Holland contained ' neither
' cereals nor any animals which could be domesticated with

* advantage ; ' upon which the Duke remarks that ' Sir John

* Lubbock urges in reply to AVhately that the low condition of
' Australian savages atfords no proof whatever that they could

* not raise themselves, because the materials of improvement
' are wanting in that country, which ifFords no cereals nor
'animals capable of useful domesticatioii. IJut Sir J. Lubbock
' does not perceive that the same argument which shows how
' improvement coidd not possibly be attained, shows also how
' degradation could not possibly be avoided. If with the few
' resources of the country it was impossible for savages to rise,
' it follows that with those same resources it would be impossible
' for a half-civilised race not to fall. And as in this case again,
' unless we are to suppose a separate Adam and Eve for Van
' Dieiiieu's Land, its natives must originally have come from
' C(Hmtries v here both corn and cattle were to be had ; it
' follows that the low condition of these natives is much more
'likely to have been the result of degradation than of primeval
' barbarism.'

But my argument was that a half-civilised race would have
brought other resources with them. The dog was, I think,
certainly introduced into that country by man, who would
probably have l)rought with him other domtjstic animals also if
he had jjossessed any. The same argument applies to plants ;
the Polynesians carried the sweet potato and the yam, as \\v\i
as the dog, with them from ihland to island; and even if the
first settlers in Australia happened to have been without them,
and without the means of acquiring them, they would ('(M'tainly
hav(! found some native jjlanis whiili would liaNC hecnwiaMh

50G SUPPOSED INEVITABILITY OF DEGRADATIOX.

the trouble of cultivation, if they hud idreucly attuiued to the
agricultural stage.

This argument applies with even more force to pottery; if
the first settlers in Australia were acquainted with this art, I
can see no reason why they should suddenly and completely
have lost it.

The Duke, indee 1, s'^'ems to maintain that the natives oH Van
Diemen's L: :d (.v.,; a i ; appears to regard as belonging to the
same race a.^^ lln, Australians and Polynesians, from both of which
races, howevei, ^ ■ "■} a:e entirely distinct) 'must have originally
' come from countries :..re both corn and cattle were to be
* had,' still ' degradation could not possibly be avoided.' This
seems to be the natural inference from the Duke's language,
and suggests a very gloomy future for our Australian fellow-
countrymen. The position is, however, so manifestly unten-
able, when once put into plain language, that I think it
unnecessary to dwell longer on this part of the subject. Even
the Duke himself will hardly mainiain that our colonists umst
fall back because the natives did not improve. Yet he extends
and generalises this argument in a subsequent paragraph,
saying, * There is hardly a single fact quoted by Sir J. Lubbock
' in favour of his own theory which, when viewed in connection
' with the same indisputable principles, does not tell against
'that theory rather than in its favour.' So far from being
' indisputable,' the principle that when savages remained
savages, civilised settlers must descend to the same level,
appears to me entirely erroneous. On reading the above
passage, however, I passed on with much interest to see which
of my facts I had so strangely misread.

The great majority of facts connected with savage life have
no perceptible bearing on the question, and I nuist therefore
have been not only very stupid, but also singularly unfortu-
nate, if of all those quoted by me in support of my argument
' there was hardly a single one ' which, read aright, was not
merely irrelevant, but actually told against me. In support of
his statement the Duke gives three illustrations, but it is
remarkable that not one of these three cases was referred to
by me in the present discussion, or in favour of the theory
now under discussion. If all the fads on wliiih I -elied told

v'"

SUPrOSEl) KVWEXCE OF DEHRADATIUS.

.Ill/

against me, it in curious that the Duke should not give
an instanoe. Tht three iHust rations wliich he quotes from
my ' Prel if-toric Times ' seem to me irrelevant ; but, as the
Duke ^hinks otherwise, it viU be worth while to see how he
iBS them, •ind to inquire whetbsr they give any real sup-
port to his argument. As already mentioned, they are three in
"umbei.

' Sir J. Lubbock,' he says, ' reminds us that in a cave on
* the north-west coast (of Australia) tolerable figures of sharks,
' porpoises, turtles, lizards, canoes, and some quadrupeds, &c,,
'were found, and yet that the present natives of th«' country
'where they were found were utterly incapable o. re- •^ing
'the most artistic vivid representations, and . '^ril the
' drawings in the cave to diabolical agency.' 'i . " proves
nothing, because the Australian tribes differ mucl .a their
artistic condition ; some rf them still make rude drawings like
thc^se above described.

Secondly, he says, ' Sir J. Lubbock quotes the testimony
'of Cook, in respect to the Tasraanians, that they had no
' canoes. Yet their ancestors could not have reached the island
' by walking on the sea.' This argument would equally prove
that the Kangaroo and the Echidna must have had civilised
ancestors ; they inhabit both Australia and Tasmania, and it
would have been impossible for their ancestors to have passed
from the one to the other ' by walking on the sea.' The Duke,
though admitting the antiquity of man, does not, I think, appre-
ciate the geological changes which liave taken place during the
human period.

The only other case which he quotes is that of the highland
Esquimaux, who had no weapons nor any idea of war. The
Duke's comment is as follows : — ' No wonder, poor people !
' They had been driven into regions where no stronger race
'could desire to follow them. ]3ut that the fathers had once
' known what war and violence meant there is no more con-
' elusive proof than the dwelling-place of their children.' It
is perhaps natural that the head of a great Highland Clan
should regard with pity a people who, luiving, ' once known
' what war and violence meant,' have no longer any neig]d)our.s
to pillage or to fight ; but a Lowlander cai. hardly be expected

j08

THE SURVIVAL OF CUSTOMS.

seriously to regard such a change as one calculated to excite
pity, or as any evidence of degradation.

In my first paper I deduced an argument from the condition
of religion among the different races of man, a part of the
subject which has since been admirably dealt with by Mr.
Tylor in a lecture at the Koyal Institution. The use of flint
for sacrificial purposes long after the introduction of metal
seemed to me a good case of what Mr. Tylor has aptly called
' Survival.' So also is the method of obtoiniug fire. Tlie
Brahman will not use ordinary fire for sacred purposes ; he
does not even obtain a fresh spark from flint and steel, but
reverts to, or rather continues, the old way of obtaining it, by
friction with a wooden drill, one Brahman pulling the thong
backwards and forwards while the other watches to catch the
sacred spark.

I also referred to the non-existence of religion among
certain savage races, and, as the Duke correctly observes, I
argued that this was probably their primitive condition, because
it is difficult to believe that a people which had once possessed
a religion would ever entirely lose it.'

This argument filled the Duke with ' astonishment.' Surely,
he says, ' if there is one fact more certain than another in
' respect to the nature of man, it is that he is capable of losing

* religious knowledge, of ceasing to believe in religious truth,
' and of falling away from religious duty. If by " religion "
' is meant the existence merely of some impressions of powers
'invisible and supernatural, even this, we know, can not only
' be lost, but be scornfully disavowed by men who are highly

* civilised.' Yet in the very same page the Duke goes on to
say, *The most cruel and savage customs in the world are

* the direct effect of its " religions." And if men could drop
' religions when they would, or if they could even form the wir^h
' to get rid of those which sit like a nightmare on their life,
'there would be many more nations without a "religion"

* than there are found to be. But religions can neither be put

ents, accord 1

goes,

g'l

ing

\'y

' It is surely unnecessary to explain possibility of a clmngc in, lut a total
(li;tl I iliil iu)t MitoiiJ to question tin loss ot', rt'ligioii.

riiOGKESS OF liELIGIOUS IDEAS.

500

* according to their beauty, or according to their power of com-

* forting.'

With this I entirely agree. Man can no more voluntarily
abandon or change the articles of his religious creed than he
can make one hair black or white, or add one cubit to his sta-
ture. I do not deny that there may be exceptional cases of
intellectual men entirely devoid of religion ; but if the Duke
means to say that men who are highly civilised habitually or
frequently lose and scornfully disavow religion, I can only say
that I should adopt such an opinion with difficulty and regret.
There is, so far as i know, no evidence on record which would
justify such an opinion, and, as far as my private experience
goes, I at least have met with no such tendency. It is indeed
true that from the times of Socrates downwards men in ad-
vance of their age have disavowed particular dogmas and par-
ticular myths ; but the Duke of Argyll would, I am sure, not
confuse a desire for reformation with the scornful disavowal of
religion as a whole. Sjme philosophers may object to prayers
for rain, but they are foremost in denouncing the folly of witch-
craft ; they may regard matter as aboriginal, but they would
never suppose with the Redskin that land was created while
water existed from the beginning, nor does any one now be-
lieve with the South Sea Islanders that the Peerage are im-
mortal, but that commoners have no souls. If, indeed, there
is * one fact more certain than another in respect to the nature

* of man,' I should have considered it to be the gradual diffusion
of religious light, and of nobler conceptions as to the nature
of God.

The lowest savages have no idea of a deity at all. Those
slightly more advanced regard him as an enemy to be dreaded,
but who may be resisted with a fair prospect of success, who
may be cheated by the cunning and defied by the strong. Tlius
the natives of the Nicobar Islands endeavour to terrify their
deity by scarecrows, and the negro beats his P'etich if his
prayers are not granted. As tribes advance in civilisation
their deities advance in dignity, but their power is still
limited ; one governs the sea, another the land ; one reigns
over the plains, another among the mountains. The most
powerful are vindicti\e, cruel, and unjust. They ret^uire

510

FETICUISM.

humiliating ceremonies and bloody sacrifices. But few races
have arrived at the conception of an omnipotent and benefi-
cent Deity.

One of the lowest forms of religion is that presented by the
Australians, which consists of a mere unreasoning belief in the
existence of mysterious beings. The native who has in his
sleep a nightmare or a dream does not doubt the reality of
that which passes ; and as the beings by whom he is visited in
his sleep are unseen by his friends and relations, he regards
them as invisible.

In Fetichism this feeling is more methodised. The negro,
by means of witchcraft, endeavours to make a slave of his
deity. Thus Fetichism is almost the opposite of Religidn ; it
stands towards it in the same relation as Alchemy to Chemistry,
or Astrology to Astronomy ; and shows how fundamentally
our idea of a deity differs from that which presents itself to
the savage. The negro does not hesitate to punisli a refrac-
tory Fetich, and hides it in his waistcloth if he does not wish
it to know what is going on. Aladdin's lamp is, in fact, a well-
known illustration of a Fetich.

A further stage, and the superiority of the higher deities is
more fully recognised. Everything is worshipped indiscrimi-
nately — animals, plants, and even inanimate objects. In
endeavouring to account for the worship of animals, we must
remember that names are very frequently taken from them.
The children and followers of a man called the Bear or the
Lion would make that a tribal name. Hence the animal itself
would be first respected, at last worshipped. This form of
religion can be shown to have existed, at one time or another,
almost all over the world.

' The Totem,' says Schoolcraft, * is a symbol of the name of

* the progenitor — generally some quadruped, or bird, or other
' object in the animal kingdom, which stands, if we may so ex-

* press it, as the surname of the family. It is always some
' animated object, and seldom or never derived from the inani-
' mate class of nature. Its significant importance is derived

* from the fact that individuals unhesitatingly trace their
' lineage from it. But Avhatever names they may be called
' during their lifetime, it is the totem, and not their personal

TOTEMISM,

511

'name, that is recorfkni on the tomb or "adjedating" that
' marks the place of burial. Families are thus traced when

* expanded into bands or tribes, the multiplication of which, in
' North America, has been very great, and has decreased, in

* like ratio, the labours of the ethnologist.' Totemism, how-
ever, is by no means confined to America. In Central India
' the jMoondah " Enidhi," or Oraon " Minijrar," or eel tribe,
*will not kill or eat that fish. The Hawk, Crow, or Heron
' tribes, will not kill or eat those birds. Livingstone, qiloted in

* Latham, tells us that the subtribes of Bitshaunas (or Bechu-

* anas) are similarly named after certain animals, and a tribe

* never eats the animal from which it is named, using the term
' " ila," hate or dread, in reference to killing it.' '

Traces, indeed, of T<itemism, more or less distinct, are
widely distributed, and often connected with marriage prohibi-
tions.

As regards inanimate objects, we must remember that the
savage accounts for all action and movement by life ; hence a
watch is to him alive. This being taken in conjunction with
the feeling that anything unusual is 'great medicine,' leads to
the worship of any remarkable inanimate object. Mr. Fergus-
son has recently attempted to show the special prevalence of
Tree and Serpent worship. He might, I believe, have made
out as strong a case for many other objects. It seems clear
that the objects worshipped in this stage are neither to be re-
garded as emblems, nor are they personified. Inanimate ob-
jects have spirits as well as men ; hence, when the wives and
slaves are sacrificed, the weapons are also broken in the grave,
so that the spirits of the latter, as well as of the former, may
accompany their master to the other world.

The gra(. lally increasing power of chiefs and priests led to
Anthropomorphism, with its sacrifices, temples, and priests, &c.
To this stage bi longs idolatry, which must by no means be re-
garded as the lowest state of religion. The writer of 'The
'Wisdom of Solomon,' ^ indeed, long ago pointed out ho^r it
was connected with monarchical power —

' Trans. Ethnological Soc. N.iS., vol. vi. p. 36.
= Wisdom, xiv. 17.

512

IDOLATRY.

I'i

fffa

;§*!

' When men could not honour in presenco, because they dwelt
' far off, they took the counterfeit of his visage from fi\r, and
' made an express image of a king, whom they honourer], to
' the end that by this, their forwardness, they might flatter him
' that was absent, as if he were present.

'Also the singular diligence of the artificer did help to set
' forward the ignorant to more superstition.

'For he, peradventure willing to please one in authority,
' forced all his skill to make the resembl;mee f)f the best
' fashion.

' And so the multitude, allured by the grace of the work,
'took him now for a God which a little before was but hcncurcd

' as a man.'

The worship of principles may be regarded as a still further
stage in the natural development of religion.

It is important to observe that each s'i r,'e of religion is
superimposed on the preceding, and that byg >ne beliefs linger
on among the children and t^\e ignorant. Thus v,itchcraft is
still believed in by the ignorant, and fairy tales flourish in the
nursery.

It certainly appears to me that the gradual development of
religious ideas among the lower races of men is a fair argu-
ment in opposition to the view that savages are degenerate
descendants of civilised ancestors. Archbishop Whately would
admit the connection between these different phases of religious
belief; but I think he would And it very diflicult to show any
process of natural degradation and decay which cor.ld explain
the quaint errors and opinions of the lower races of men, or to
account for the lingering belief in witchcraft, and other absur-
dities, &c., in civilised races, excepting by some such train of
reasoning as that which I have endeavoured to sketch.

There is another case in this nuMuoir Avhei'cnn the Duke,
although generally a fair opponent, bi-ings forward an unsiip-
portable accusation. He critii'is(\s severely the ' Four Ages,'
generally admitted by archa'ologirtts, especially referring to the
terms Talaeolithic ' and ' Neolithic,' which are used to denote
the two eavlier.

I have no wish to take to myself in particular th(> lilanie

wi- 1

THE TRUE THEORY OF THE FOUR AGES. rdS

which the Duke impuvtially extends to archieologists in gene-
ral, but, having suggested the two terms in question, I will
simply place side by side the passage in which they first ap-
peared and the Duke's criticism, and confidently ask whether
there is any foundation for the sweeping accusation made by
the noble Duke.

The Duke says : ' For here
[ must observe that Archaeo-
logists are using language on
this subject which, if not po-
sitively erroneous, requires,
at least, more rigorous de-
finitions and limitations of
meaning thau they are dis-
posed to attend to. They
talk of an Old Stone Age
(Paleolithic), and of a Newer
Stone Age (Neolithic), and
of a T>onze Age, and of an
Iron Age. Now, there is no
proof whatever that such
Ages ever existed in the
world. It may be true, and
it probably is true, that most
nations in the progress of the
Arts have passed through
the stages of using stone for
implements before they were
acquainted with the use of
metals. Even this, however,
may not be true of all na-
tions. In Africa there ap-
pear to be no traces of any
time when the natives were
not jicquaintrd with the use
of lion ; and T am informed
by Sir Saniuel Haker that
iron (!,(» \< s(i connnon in

My words, when proposing
the terms, were as follow : —

' From the careful study of
' the remains which have come

* down to us, it would appear
'that the prehistoric archa'o-
' logy may be divided into four
'great epochs.

' Firstly, that of Drift, when
' num shared the possession of
' Europe with the mammoth,
' the cave-bear, the woolly-
' haired rhinoceros, and other
' extinct animals. This we
'may call the "Paheolithic "
' period.

' Secondly, the latter or po-
' lished Stone Age ; a period
' characterised by beautiful
' weapons and instruments
' made of flint and other kinds
'of stone, in which, however,
' we find no trace of tJie know-
' ledge of any metal, excepting
' gold, which seems to have
' been sometimes used lor or-

* naments. This we may call
'the Neolithic period.

' Thirdly, the Rronxe Age,
' in which bronze was used for
'arms and cutting instruments
'..f all kinds.
1.

§■

:-.M. Till'] TRUE THEOJiY ol' TIJE FOUli AdES.

ill

1'^

Africa, und of a kind so
tiasily reducible by heat, that
its use might well be disco-
vered by the rudest tribes,
who were in the habit of
lighting fires. Then agJiin
it is to be remembered that
there are some countries in
tlie world where ptone is as
rare and difficult to get as
metals.

*The great alluvial plains
of ^Mesopotamia are a case in
point. Accordingly we know
from the remains of tlie first
Chaldean monarchy that a
very high civilisation in the
arts of agriculture and of
connnerce coexisted with the
use of stone implements of a
very rude charact(M'. This
fact proves that rude stone
implements are not necessa-
rily Jir.y proof whatever of
a really barbarous condition.
And even if it were true that
the use of stone has in all
cases preceded tlie use of
metals, it is quite certain
that the same age which was
an Age of Stone in one part
of the world was ar. Age of
INh'lal in the ofher. As re-
gards llie l'!sl<iiiK> and the
Smith Sea Isliinders. we i,re
new, or wer<> xcry receiillv,
h'\ iiig in n Stone Age."

I h;i»l tiieriTui'e e;iret'iilly })(tiu

I lie ii)llis>iMii (if w hieh t he Dlllve i

' P'ourthly, the Iron Age, in
which that metal had super-
seded bronze for arms, a^^s,
knives, &c. ; bronze, how-
ever, still being in common
use for ornaments, and fre-
quently also for the hanales
of swords and other anns, but
never for the blades,

' Stone weapons, however,
of many kinds were still in use
during the Age of Bronze,
and even during that of Iron.
So that th ■? mere presence of a
few stone implements is not in
itself sufficient evidence that
any given " find " belongs to
the Stone Age.

' In order to prevent mis-
apprehension, it may be as
well to state at once that I
only apply this classification
to Europe, though in all pro-
bability it might also be ex-
tended to the neighbouring
parts of Asia and Africa.
As regards other civilised
countries, China and Japan
for instance, we, as yet, know
nothing of their prehistoric
archa'ology. It is evident,
also, that som(> nations, sncli
as the Fuegians, Andama-
ners, i^-c, are even now only
in an Age of Stone.'

\(h\ out t hose viTV liniilal ions,
■oiidenms,

EVIDENCE FROM ('BOSSED RACES.

51'.

T will now liriiig forward one or two iuldilional reasons in
snppoit of my view. There is a considerable body of evidence
tending to sliow that the oflfspring produced by crossing
different varieties tends to revert to the type from which these
varieties are descended. Thus Tegetmeier states that ' a cross
•■ between two non-sitting varieties (of the common fowl) almost
' invariably produces a mongrel that becomes broody, and sits
' with remarkal)le steadiness.' Mr. Darwin gives several cases
in Avhich such hybrids or mongrels are singularly wild and im-
tamable, the mule being a familiar instance. Messrs. Boitard
and Corbie state that, when they crossed certain breeds of
pigeons, they invariably got some young ones coloured like the
wild C. llv'm. Mr. Darwin repeated these experiments, anil
found the statement fully confirmed.

So, again, the same is the case witii fowls. The original of
the domestic fowl was of a n^ddish colour, but thousands of the
Black Spanish and the white silk fowls might be bred without
a single red feather appearing; yet Mr. Darwin found that on
crossing them he immediately obts.ined specimens with red
feathers. Similar results have been obtained with ducks,
rabbits, and cattle. Mules also have not unfrequently barred
legs. It is unnecessary to give these cases in detail, because
Mr. Darwin's work on ' Animals and Plants under Domestica-
' (ion ' is in the hands of every naturalist.

Applying the same test to man, Mr. Darwin observes that
crossed races f)f men are singularly ' .ivage and degraded.
' Many years ago,' he says, 'I was struck by the fact that in
* South America men of complicated descent between Negroes,
' Indians, and Spaniards, seldom had, whatever the cause might
'be, a good cxpressif»n. Livingstone remarks that " it is un-
' " accountable why half-castes are so much more cruel than the
'" Portuguese, but sudi is undoubtedly the ciise." A Ufitivo
'remarked to Li\ingstone— " God nirule white men, and (iod
'"•blnck men, but the devil made li;ilf castes ! '" \N'lien two
' races, both low in the scale, are crossed, the progeny seems to
' be eminently biid. 'i'hus the jioble-henrted Huniiioldt, who
' I'elt none of thnt prcjiiflice against the inferior rjices now fo
'current in Kngliind, speaks in strong terms of the b;i(l iind
' saviige disposition oj' /umbMs. or hidl-castes between hidiiin'^

I, -'

.MG SnilLAUlTY OF SAVAaES AXP CUILDREX.

* and Negroes, and this conclusion has been arrived at by
' various observers. From these facts we may perhaps infer
' that the degraded stfite of so many half-castes is in part due

* to a reversion to a primitive and sa\age condition, indiiced by

* the act of crossing, as well as to the unfavourable moral con-

* ditions under which they generally exist.'

I confess, however, that I am not sure how far this may not
be accounted for by the unfortunate circumstances in which
half-breeds are generally placed. The half-breeds between
the Hudson's Bay Company's servants and the native women,
being well treated and looked after, appear to be a creditable
and well-behcived set.'

I would also call particular attention to the remarkable
similarity between the mental characteristics of savages and
those of children. *The Abipones,' says Dobritzhofifer,''' ' when
' they are unable to comprehend anything at tirst sight, soon
' grow weary of examining it, and cry " orqueenam ? " what
' is it after all ? Sometimes the Guaranies, when completely

* puzzled, knit their brows, and cry " tupa oiquaa," God knows

* what it is. Since they possess such small reasoning powers,

* and have so little inclination to exert them, it is no wonder

* that they are neither able nor willing to argue one thing Irom

* another.'

Kichardson says of the Dogrib Indians, * that however high
' the reward they expected to receive on reaching their desri-
' nation, they could not be depended on to carry letters. A

* slight difficulty, the prospect of a banquet on venison, or a
' sudden impulse to visit some friend, were sufficient to turn

* them aside for an indefinite length of time.' ^ Le Vaillant *
also observes of the Namaquas, that they closely resembled
children in their great curiosity.

M. Bomien,'' speaking of the wild tribes in thp Malayan
Peninsula, says that an ' inconstant humoi/r, fickle and erratic,
' lo^M'ther with a mixture of fear, tiniidUy, and diffidence, lies
' ;tt th> oottom of their character ; they ceeiu always to think

* \\yM th"v would he better in any other place than in the one

' iMiii:,"v Oregon ' » r.-iturv. p. ■• Tri\V(N in Afrii-a. 177(>. vol. iii. p.

IStH. (if the Atiiponi -.Vdl. ii. p. r»9.
.'.n I . ' V.T. ■ilitioti, vol. ii. p 'j:i.

12.

7«.

Ti-

I'lliii. s,ie, N. S. w'l, iii. p,

SIMILARITY OF SAVAGES AXD CIIILDUEN. 517

'they occupy at the time. Like eh'idren, tbcir actions seem
' to be rarely guided by reflection, and they almost always act
' impulsively.' The tears of the South Sea Islanders, ' like
' those of children, were always ready to express any passion
' that was strongly excited, and like those of children, they
' also appeared to be forgotten as soon as shed.' '

The Kutchin Indians of North-West America, according
to Morgan, ' give vent to injured feelings, as well as physical

* pain, by crying, a practice shared equally by the males and
' females, and by the old as well as the young.'

At Tahiti, Captain Cook mentions that Oberea, the (^ueen,
and Tootahah, one of the principal chiefs, amused themselves
with two large dolls. D'Urville tells us that a New Zealand
chief, Tauvarya by name, ' cried like a child because the sailors

* spoilt his favourite cloak by powdering it with floiu'.' "^
V/illiams ^ mentions that in Feejee not only the women, but even
the men give vent to their feelings by crying. Burton even
says that among East Africans the men cried more frequently
than the women.*

The Negro kings of Western Africa, ' from Gelele to Ku-

* manika of Karaqwah, are dehghted with chi^dr^^n's toys,
' gutta-percha faces. Noah's Arks ; in fact, what wuuld be most

* acceptable to a child of eight — which the Negro is.' ^

Not only do savages closely resemble children in their
general character, but a curious similarity exists bet n een tliem
in many small points. For instance, the tendency redupli-
cation, which is so charao; eristic of children, prevail niarkably
also among savages. The first 1000 words h, ichardson's
dictionary (down to allege), contain only three, :i. 'iiely, julsci-
titious, adventitious, agitator, and oven in thest it is reduced
to a minimum. There is not a single wor I'ke aid ahl,
evening; ake cke^ eternal; akl aid, a bird: > n ivaniwa, t]\i',
rainbow ; anga aufia, agreement ; aiuii aixji, abroad ; aru aro,
in front ; aru aru, to woo ; ati all, to drive out ; atva atca, a
valley ; or awan(ja icaaga, hope, words t>t a class which abound
in savage languages.

' Cook's First Voynge, ]). lo;}.
- Vol. ii. p, ;t!»8. See also YMuV
New Zoiilaiul, )', 101,

• Fiji anil tlio l''./,.ui!<, vul. :i. [>. \l

* Ijak(> Hepions, p. XVI,

•* JJurton's Daliuiiio, vol, i. \<. li'-'H.

518

LA XG UA OE OF SA VA ES.

The first 1000 words in a French dictionary I found to con-
tain only two reduplications, namely, nnana and assassin, both
of which are derived from a lower race, and cannot, strictly
speaking, be regarded as French.

Again 1000 German words, taking for variety the letters
C and D, contain six cases, namely, Cacadu (cockatoo), Cac<i»,
Cocon (cocoon), Cocoshau in, a cocoa-nut tree, Cocosnusff, cocoa-
nut, and (la(/e(jen, of which again all but the last are foreign.

Lastly, the first 1000 Greek Avords contained only two re-
duplications, one of which is a^ap^apos.

For comparison with the above I have examined the Noca-
bularies of the following eighteen tribes, and the results arc
given in the following table : —

1
Nuinlicr

NuniVxT

rropoi-

Languages

of wordx

of rodu-

tion \)c\-

cxiiiniiK'd

plicutioiis

mil.

Europe —

English

1000

French

1000

Both foreign.

German

1000

All but one foreign.

Greek

1000

One being afiapfiapoi.

Africa —

Beetjuan .

188

Lichtenstein.

Bosjesnian .

129

NamaqTia Tfottentot .

1000

H. Tindall.

Mpongwo .

1264

Hnowden and I'rall.

Fulup

204

137

KocUe.

Mbofcn

267

100

))

America —

Maliah .

1011

Smithsonian Contribu-
tions, 1869.

Darien Indians .

1S4

Trans. Kih. Hoc. vol. vi.

Ojibwii

2 83

Selioolerat't.

Tupy Brazil

1001)

Gonsalvez Dias.

Xc;j;r()i(l --

l^runier Island .

214

170

Mai'gilliviay,

KudsL'iir Hay

12.i

»i

Ijouisiado .

138

160

Erroob

OlU

Jukes.

Lewis Murray Island .

ftOfi

Australia -

KowrareRa

720

INIai-gillixTHy.

Polynesia -

TnnRa

inoo

166

106

]\Iarinrr.

Now Zualand

1300

220

169

Diuffenbach.

['"or African Innguag'^s T have exjimined the Heefjuan and
Bor-jfsman dialr'ct,-. given hv Lirhtenslrin in hi:- 'Tvas'l in

TENDENCY OF TlEBUrLICATlONS.

510

'Southern Africa;' the Namaqna Hottentot, as given by
Tindall in his * Grrammar and Vov^abiilary of the Namaqu.a
' Hottentot ;' the Mpongwe of the (raboon, from the Grammar
of the jNIpongvve binguage published by Snowden and Prall
of New York ; and histly the Fiilup and Mbofon Umguages,
from Koelle's ' Polyglotta Africana.' For America, the Makali
dialect, given by Mr. Swan in the Smithsonian Contributions
for 1869 ; the Ojibwa vocabulary, given in Schoolcraft's

* Indian tribes ; ' the Darien vocabulary, from the 6th vol.
N.S. of the Ethnological Society's Transactions ; and the
Tupy vocabulary, given in A. Gonsalvez Div's ' Diccionaria
'da Lingua Tupy, chamada lingua geral dos indigenas do
' Brazil.' To these I have added the languages spoken on
Brumer Island, at Redscar Bay, Kovvrarega, and at the
Louisiade, as collected by Macgillivray in the ' \'oyage of the

* Rattlesnake ; ' and the dialects of Erroob and Lewis Murray
Island, from Juke's ' Voyage of the Fly.' Lastly, for Poly-
nesia, the Tongan dictionary, given by M' f\\) w. and that of
New Zealand by Dieffenbach.

The result is, that while in the four European languages
we get about two reduplications in 1000 words, in the savage
ones the number varies from thirty-eight to 170, being from
twenty to eighty times as many in proportion.

In the Polynesian and Feejee Islands they are particularly
numerous; thus, in Feejee, such names as Somosomo, Raki-
raki, Raviravi, J^umaluma are common. Perhaps the most
familiar New Zealand words are meremere, patoo patoo, ami
kivi kivi. So generally, however, is reduplication a character-
istic of savage tongues, that it even gave rise to the term

* barbarous.'

In some cases grammatical relations are indicated by rc-
duplicatiom ; for instance, in old Aryan the perfect; in others,
as in liushman, the plural; sometimes, as in Maiidingo, t lie
superlative.'

The love of pet.'< is very strongly develoi)('d aiixtng savages.
jNIany instances have been given by Mr. (Jalton in liis Meiiidir
on the ' Domesticatiim of Animals."'^

• 'I'r.iii'-. riiliii. Si.,- \mI. ill. I', \11.

520 ANCIENT CEREMONIES AND MODERN GAMES.

* s^H

^^^H

■

ll^

III!*

>■■" ■ y'l *

It;"':-

m
m

:4^

Among minor indications may be mentioned the use of the
rattle. Originally a sacred and mysterious instrument, as it is
still among some of the Siberian, Redskin, and Brazilian '
tribes, it has Mvith us degenerated into a child's toy. Thus
Dobritzhofifer tells us, the Abipones at a certain season of the
year worshipped the Pleiades. The ceremony consisted in a
feast accompanied with dancing and music, alternating with
praises of the stars, during which the principal priestess, ' who

* conducts the festive ceremonies, dances at intervals, rattling
'a gourd full of hardish fruit-seeds to musical time, and
' whirling round to the right with one foot, and to the left with

* another, without ever removing from one spot, or in the

* least varying her motions.' ^ Spix and Martius '' thus describe
a C< 'ado chief: — In the middle of the assembly, and nearest
to the pot, stood ' the chief, who, by his strength^ cunning, an<l
'courage, had obtained some comnunul over them, and had rv-
' ceived from Marlier the title of Captain. In his right hand
'he held the maraca, the above-mentioned castanet, which

* they call g.ringerina, and rattled with it, beating time with
'his right foot.' 'The Congo Negroes had a great wooden
'rattle, upon which they took tkiir oaths.' ^ The rattle also is
very mportant among the Indians of North America.'* When
any person is sick, the sorcerer or medicine-man brings his
sacred rattle and shakes it over him. This, says Prescott, ' is
' the principal catholicon for all diseases.' Catlin "^ also describes
the 'rattle' as being of great importance. Some tribes have
a sacred drum closely resembling that of the Lapps.^ Whni
an Indian is ill, the magician, says Carver,^ 'sits by <hf
' patient day and night, rattling in his ears a gourd-shell Hlhd
' with dried beans, called a chichicone.'

Klemm^ also remarks on the great significance attached to

' Martius, Von dem Rechtszustamle
unter den Ur.-Bruziliens, p. 34.

* Dobritzh offer, vol. ii. p. 66. Soo
albo p. 72.

» Travels in Brazil. Londou, 1824,
vol. ii. p. 2o4.

< Afrtley'." Cdll. of Voyafieh. vol. iii.
p 233,

■* Pres-cott in Sclioolcraft's Induin
Tribes, vol. ii. pp. 179, 180.

* American Indians, vol. i, pp. 37.
40, 163, &c.

' Catlin, loc. cit. p. 40.

» Travels, p. 38.^.

" Culturgebchit'hte, vnl, ii. p. 17J.

ANCIEXT CEUEMOMES AND MODERN GAMES.

5'Jl

the rattle throughout America, and Staad even thought that it
was worshipped as a divinity.'

Schoolcraft ' also gives a figure of Oshkabaiwis, a Redskin
medical chief, ' holding in his hand the magic rattle,' which is
indeed the usual emblem of authority in the American picto-
graphs. I know no case of a savage infant using the rattle as
a plaything.

Tossing halfpence, as dice, again, which used to be a sacred
and solemn mode of consulting the oracles, is now a mere game
for children.

So again the doU is a hybrid between the baby and the
fetich, and, exhibiting the contradictory characters of its
parents, becomes singularly unintelligible to grown-up people.
Mr. Tylor has poi>ited out other illustrations of this argument,
and I would refer thtvw who feel interested in this part of the
subject to his excellent work.

Dancing is another case in point. With us it is a mere
amusement. Among savages it is an important, and, in some
caaevS religious ceremony. ' If,' says Robertson,-' * any inter-

* cow-rse be necessary between two American tribes, the ambas-

* sttdors of the one approach in a solemn dance, and present the

* calumet or emblem of peace ; the sachems of the other receive

* it with the same ceremony. If war is denounced against an
' enemy, it is by a dance, expressive of the resentment which
' they feel, and of the vengeance which they meditate. If the
' wrath of their gods is to be appeased, or their beneficence to
' be celebrated, if they rejoica at a birth of a child, or mourn
' the death of a friend, they have dances appropriated to each
'of these situations, and suited to the ditferent sentiments with
' which they are then animated. If a person is indisposed, a
'dance is prescribed as the most eftectual means of restoring

* him to health ; and if he himself cannot endure the fatigue of
' such an exenise, the physician or conjuror performs it in his
' name, as if the virtue cf his activity could be transferred to
' his pH^tient.'

But it is unnecessary to multiply illustrations. Every one

MiFiu> deh S.iiiv.ig/^» aniei'iL'.iiii!', lOJ.

vul. 11. p. IV.

^ IJobtML-un's) America, bk. iv, \i.

■ lud'uia Tribtj I't, 111. i^. 1'.'" I'S-i.

522

DEVELOrMEST OF THE INDIVIDUAL.

who has read mucli on tlie siilyccl will iidiuit llie truth of the
statement. It explains the capricious treatment which so many
white men liave received from savage potentates ; how they
have been alternately petted and ill-treated, at one time loaded
with the best of everything, at another neglected or put to
death.

The close resenililance existing in ideas, language, habits,
an 1 character between savages and children, though generally
admitted, his usually been disposed of in a passing sentence,
and regarded /ather as a curious accident than as an important
truth. Yet from several points of view it possesses a high in-
terest. Better understood, it might have saved us many
national misfortunes, from the loss of Captain Cook down to
the Abyssinian war. It has .also a direct bearing on the pre-
sent discussion.

The opinion is rapidly gaining ground among naturalists,
that the development of the individual is an epitome of tliat of
the species, a conclusion which, if fully borne out, will evidently,
prove most instructive. Already many facts are on record
which render it, to say the least, highly probable. Birds of
the same genus, or of closely allied genera, which, when ma-
ture, differ much in colour, are often very similar when young.
The young of the Lion and the Puma are often striped, and
f(Ktai whales have teeth. Leidy has shown that the milk-teeth
of the genus Equus resemble the permanent teeth of Anchl-
theriu/nij while the milk-teeth of Anchitherium again approxi-
mate to the dental system of Merychlppas.^ Kiitimeyer,
while calling attention to this interesting observation, adds that
the milk-teeth of Eqit as caballus in the same way, and still
more those of E. fosulUs, resemble the ]i rmanent tcjcth of
Hippnrwn.-

Agassiz, according to Darwin, regards it as a ' law of nature,'
that the young states of each species and group resemble older
forms of the same group ; and Darwin himself says,^ that ' in

* two or more groups of animals, however much they may at

* first difi^'er from each other in structure and habits, if tli<'y

' Piw. Acad. Xiil. Soc. rinlmU'l-
j>hia. l.SoS, p. •_'().

iJuiU'ii;.

/.ui; Komitiiith iUt

fos.silfii Pfordo. Basle. 18G3.

' (.>i'ii;iii of StK'cicb, llli cdiliuii, i'.

BEVELOrMEXT OF THE TXLIVIDIAL.

?;'>

i-,

' pass I hroiigb closely similar embryonic stages, we may feci
' almost assured tha^- they have descended from the same parent
' form, and are therefore closely related.' So also Mr. Her-
bert Spencer says,' ' Each organism exhibits within a short
'space of time, a series of changes which, when supposed to
'occupy a period indefinitely great, and to go on in various
' ways instead of one way, give us a tolerably clear conception
' uf organic evolution in general.'

It may be said that this argument involves the accoptanc(;
of the Darwinian hypothesis; this would, however, be amis-
take ; the objection might indeed be tenal)le if men belonged
to different species, but it cannot fairly be urged by those wlio
regard all mankind as descended from common ancestor.- ; and,
in fact, it is strongly held by Agassiz. one of Mr. Darwin's
most uncompromising opponents. Kegarded from this })oint
of view, the similarity existing between savages and children
assumes a singular importance and becomes almost conclusive
as regards the question now at issue.

The Duke ends his work with the expression of a, belief
that man, ' even in his most civilised condition, is capable (»f
' degradaticjn, that his knowledge may decay, and that his
* religion may be lost." That this is true of individuals, I
do not of course deny ; that it holds good with the human
race, I cannot believe.- Far more true, as it seems to me,
are the concluding passages of Lord Dunraven's opening ad-
dress to the Candjrian Archteological Association, ' that if we
' look back through the entire period of the past history of
'man, as exhibited in the result of archa'ological investigation,
' we can scarcely fail to perceive that the whole exhibits one
'grand scheme of progression, which, notwithstanding partial
' periods of decline, has for its end the ever-increasing civilisa-

' Principles of Hiolopry, vol. i. p.
349.

• The Duke appt'.irs to consider tluit
the tirst rien, tliougli deticii nt in
know leilgo of tlie nieciumiciil art>, were
morally and intellectually superior, or
at least equa), to these of the prcbi iit
day; and it iy remarkable that, f.up-
portinK such a \ie\v, ho f^li'mld ic^riird
hiinccU a,i a chainp"ii ,,f urlhodu.xy.

Adam is, on the contrary, representeil
to UN in Genesis not only as naked, and
sul.isequently clothed with leaves, but as
unable to resist the most trivial tempta-
tion, and as entertaining very gross
and anthropomorphic concrptions of the
Deity. In I'act, in all three charact (eris-
tics — in his mo(h' of life, in his nior.il
condiiion, nwA in his intellectual i-ou-
cej 'lions Adam was a typical Sdva;;c.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

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v.^

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524

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPECIES.

* tion of man, and the gradual development of his higher faeul-

* ties, and for its object the continual manifestation of the de-

* sign, the power, the wisdom, and the goodness of Almighty
*God.'

I confess therefore that, after giving the arguments of the
Duke of Argyll my most attentive and candid consideration, I
see no reason to adopt his melancholy conclusion, but I remain
persuaded that the past history of man has, on the whole, been
one of progress, and that, in looking forward to the future, we
arejustified in doing so with confidence and with hope.

'Il

NOTES.

Paue 75.

Position of Women in Australia.^

FcEMiNiE sese per totam pene vitam prostitiiunt. Apud
plurimas tribus juventutem utriusque sexiis sine di'scrimine
concumbere in usus est. Si juvenis forte indigenorum coRtum
quendam in castris manentem adveniat, ubi quaevis sit pnella
innupta, mos est, nocte veniente et cubantibus omnibus,
illam ex loco exsurgere et juvenem accidentem cum illo per
noctem manere, unde in sedem propriam ante diem redit. Cui
foemina sit, earn amicis libenter praebet ; si in itinere sit, uxori
in castris manenti aliquis supplet illi vires. Advenis ex
longinquo accidentibus foeminas ad tempus dare hospitis esse
boni judicatur. Viduis et foeminis jam senescentibus sacpe in
id traditis, quandoque etiam invitis et insciis cognatis, adole-
scentes utuntur. Puellas teneroe a decimo primum anno, ct
pueri a decimo tertio vel quarto, inter se miscentur. Seniori-
bus mos est, si forte gentium plurium castra appropinquant,
viros noctu hinc inde transeuntes, uxoribus alienis uti et in
sua castra ex utraque parte mane redire.

' Temporibus quinetiam certis, machina qusedam ex ligno
ad i'ormam ovi facta, sacra et mystica, nam foeminas aspicere
baud licitum, decem plus minus uncias longa et circa quatuoi
lata, insculpta ac figuris diversis ornat^i, et ultimam perforata
partem ad longam (plorumtjuo e crinibus humanis toxtam)
iuscn.'udam chordam cui nomrn " Moo yuiukarr,*' extra castra
in gyruin vcrsjitn, stridoro uiagiio o percusso jrre facto, libcr-

' K^tk's PisfiivirieH, &c., vol. ii. p. a2(».

: ;•■

:M.

,tl

520

KOTl^S.

'tatom foonndi jiiventuti esse ttim eonoessam oiiinibus iiulioaf.

* Parent es sacpe infantum, viri uxonun, qua'stmn corponun

* facitint. In urbe Adelaide panis prremio parvi aut paucorum

* denariorum meretrices fieri eas libenter cogunt. Facile potest

* intelligi, anjorem inter nuptos vix posse esse grandein, qnnm

* omnia qua^ ad ftMninas attinent, hominum arbitrio ordineutur

* et tcinta sexnum sooietati laxitas, et adolescentes quibus it a

* multre ardoris explendi dantiir occasiones, hand niagnopcre

* uxores, nisi iit servos, desideraturos.'

Pagk 9G.

Adoption.

* Adjiciendum et hoc, quod post evectionem ad Dcos, Juno,

* Jovis suasu, filium sibi Herculem adoptavit, et onine deinceps

* ternpus materna ipsum benevolent ia complexa fuerit. Illam

* adoptionem hoc modo factam perhibent : Juno lectum in-

* grossa, Herculem corpori suo admotum, ut verum imitaretur

* partum, subter vestes ad terram dcmisit. (^uem in hoc

* us(jue tcmpus adopt ionis ritum barbari observant.''

PACJE119.

The Character of HeUv.

The character and position of Helen have not, I think, been
as yet correctly appreciated. Mr. Gladstone truly observes'^
that * No one forming his estimate of Helen from Homer only

* could fall into the gross errors (»f looking upon her as a type

* of depraved -character ; ' but even he has, I think, hardly done
justice. He continues as follows :—

* Her fall once incurred, she finds herself bound by the
'iron chain of circumstance, from which she can f>btain no
'extrication. But to the world, ben«'at'' wliose standard of
' morality she has sunk, she makes at least this reparation, that

* the sharp condemnation of herself is ever in her mouth, and
♦that she does not seek to throw off the burden of her shame

* on her more guilty partner. Nay, more tlnin this, her self-

i»i>

hliiruM, iv, ii'J,

Juvi'tiiub Miiii li, (I, '((i7<

XOTRS.

r,'27

* debusing and self-renouncing humility oomo nearer, perhaps,

* than any other heathen example to the type of Christian

* penitence.'

Other writers have felt the sjime difficulty. Maclaurin, for
instance, says : ' * What is most astonishing of all is, that they
'(the Trojans) did not restore her upon the death of Paris,
' but married her to his brother Deiphobus. Here Chrysostom

* argues, and with great plausibility, that this is perfectly
' incredible, upon the supjwsition that Paris had poss-essed him-

* self of her by a crime.'

We must, however, judge Helen by the customs of the
time ; an I it has been clearly shown that among the lower races
of man marriage by capture was a recognised custom. Hers
seems to me a case of this kind. It will be observed that she
is always spoken of as Paris' wife. Thus, speaking of Paris,
she says :

Would that a better nuiii had Ciilled nic wife ; ''
and again :

Godlike Paris cltiimB me as his wife'
Paris himself speaks of her as his wife —

Yet hath my wife. oVn now, with soothing words
Urged me to join the buttle.*

So also Hector, though he regarded Paris with great con-
tempt, and reproached him in strong language, addresses hint
as married :

Thou wretched Paris, though in form so fair,
Thou slave of woman, manhood's counterfeit !
"VVouhl thou had'st ne'er been born, or died at Knst
Unwedded I *

and speaks to Helen with kindness and affection ; as, for instance,
in the Vlth Book he says :

Though kind tiiy wish, yet. Helen, ask me not
To sit or rest ; I euunot yield to thee,
For burns e'en now my soul to nid our friends,
Who feel my los.-*, and sorely need my arm.
]{ut thou thy husband rouse, and lit him sjieed,
Tliat he may find me still within the walls."

' Distertiilinii tuprove that Troy was
not taken by the Uri'fks. Hy .loliii
M.iclani'iii, l'^>i.

VI.

H)'2.

Lord I>.rli,

\''s '

rrariH

1.. .

. .\.\iv

. M<,»J, '

:i!»l.

4H.

4l<.t.

r.28

NOTES.

The aged Priam, even when grieving over the fatal war, is
careful to assure Helen that he does not complain of her :

Not thee I blamo,
But to the Ootls I owe this woful war.'

These were no exceptional cases. On the contrary, in hor
touching lament over Hector's corpse, Helen says :

Hector, of all my brethren dearent thoti I

True, (iodlike PhHs claims me as his wiff,

Who bore me hither— would I then had .lied !

Hut twenty years have pass'd since here I cam<»,

And left my nativp land ; yet ne'er fn)m thee

I heard one sc )mful, one degrading word ;

And when from others I have Iwriie reproach,

Thy brothers, sisters, or thy brothers' wives,

Or mother (for thy sire was ever kind

E'en ao a father), thou hast check'd them still

With trtider fcpling, and with gentle words.

For thee I weep, and for myself no less ;

For, through the breadth of Troy, none love me now,

None kindly look on me, but all abhor.

Weeping slie spoke, and with her wt-pt the crowd.

Even in that hour of sorrow, the people pitied, but did not
upbraid her. It is true that she reproaches herself; not, how-
ever, apparently for her marriage with Paris, but on account of
the misfortunes which she had been the mccans of bringing on
Troy.

I dwell on these considerations, because unless we realise
the fact that marriage by capture was a recognised form of
matrimony, involving, according to the ideas of the time, no
disgrace, at any rate to the woman, it soenis to me that
we cannot understand the character of Helen, or properly
appreciate the ' Iliad ' itself. If Helen was a faithless wife, an
abandoned and guilty wretch, the terms in which she is described
by Homer would be, to say the least, misplaced : he would have
condoned vice when clad in the garb of beauty.

Yet his treatment of Venus shows how little likely he was
80 to err, and we nmst, I think, on the whole, concbide that
Helen, having been carried oflF forcibly, was, according to the
ideas of the time, legally married to Paris, and was guilty of
no crime.

' r. c. ill. 10.").

XOTI'JS.

r>i»i»

Krpiiitioii for Marrkvie,

Tlic passage in St. Augustine is as follows : —

'Sed quid Ihkj dicjun, cum ibi ait et Priapus niiniiis
' niasoulus, super cujus imnianissimum et turpissiinuni fasci-

* num sedere nova nupta jubeatur, more lionestissimo et religio-

* sissimo matronaruni.''

In his description of I5abylonian customs, Her<Mlotus says : ^

O hs 8t) aia-x^KTTOs rS)v v6fi(av eart, Toiai \ia^v\(oi'iot(ri
oSs' Bet Traaav yvvaiKa i7rf)((opir}v i^ofievr)if is Ipov WifipoBiTifs,
ana^ iif rfj ^orj fii'X^drjvai avBpl ^sivfp. UoWal Be Kal ovk u^iev-
fisvai ava/i,i<rys<r0at Trjai aWTjai, ola irXoiiTtp virsp^povsovcrat^
fiTTt ^evysdjp iv KafitipDai eXdaaaai^ wpos to ipov ea-Taai •
OspaTrrjij] B^ a^i omaOev aireTai ttoW/;. at Be irKevves ttoisuo-i
(oBe' ev TSfievei W(f)poBiTr)s Karearai, aTe<f>avov irspl T?]cn
Ke<j>aXfiai e^ovaai dtofiiyyos, TroWal yvvacKSS' ai /xeu yap
irpocrsp-^ovTaiy at Be aTrep')(ovrai. a^oivoTSvees Bs Bis^oBut
iravra rpoirov oB'jw e^ovai Bta rtav yvvaiKwv^ BC Stv ol ^sivoi
Bis^iuvTSs eKXiyovrai. evOa eirsav '{l^-qrai, yvv/j, ov irpoTspoi/
diraWdfrasTat is to, olxia^ // tIs ol ^sivoav dpyvpiov ifi/BaXwu
is TO, yovvara, fit-X^V '^^^ "^^^ ipov' sfi^aXovTa Bs Bsl slirsiu
ToaovBe' 'E7rt/ca\«a) rot rifv Osov MuXtTxa. MuXtTra Be
KoXiovai rrjv W.<f)poBLTr}v Waavpioi • to Be dpyupiov fisyaOus eari
o<rop o)V' ov yap fit} inredai^rai' ov yap ol Oe/xis eari' yiverai
yap ipov rovro to dpyvpiov' rto Be TrpcoTOi) ifi^aXovri eTrsrai^
ovBe diroBoKLfia ovBeva' eirsav Be p^X^U dTroataxrafisvT) rrj de(o
(iiroWdaaeraL is ra oiKia, Kal twtto tovtov ovk ovto) fxe'ya ri
ol Bdxreis &s fiiv Xdfiylreai. oaai /xiv vvv e\Beos tb eTrafi/isi>ai
eltxl Kal fieyddsoSy ra^v dnaWcia-aovrai' Haat Be dfiop<f)oi
avriwv ela-i, XP^^^^ troWov irpotrp^evovai, ov Bvvdfierat tov
vofxov iKirXtfaai' Kal yap rpier -a Kal rsTpasrea p-STs^srspai
Xpoi'ov fievovcri. iviax*^! Be Kal tPjs Kvirpov earl irapaTrXt'iaiov

TOVTfp VOflOS.

Mela' tt'lls us thai among (lie Auziles, auotlicr yEthiopiau

' Civit. Doi, vi. 9.

» ("lio, i. 199.
M M

• Well., i.

630

NOTEf!!.

tribe, *Feminis solemne est, nocte, qua nubunt, omnium

* stiipro patere, qui cum munere advenerint : et tiun, eiuu
' plurimis cor.cubuisse, maximum decus ; in reliciuum pudicitia

* insignis eft.'

Speaking of the Nasamonians, Herodotus observes :

TrpwTov Bs yafiiovros Na<ra/iwros avBpuf, vofios icrri tijv
vvfi<f>r}v vvKTi rff trpdirrj Bia irdvrwv Bis^sXOetu rCov BcaTVfi6vcoif
m(Tyofisvr)if' TOiV he ots eKa(Tr6s oi fit')(Brj, hthol Bcopov, ro av
sxjl ^epofisvos if oikov.^

In many cases the exchisive possession of a wife could
only be legally acquired by a temporary recognition of tlie pre-
existing communal rights. The account given by IfcTodotus,'*
of the custom existing in Babylonia has been already quoted.
According to Strabo, there was a very similar law in Armenia.'
In some parts of Cyprus also, among the Nasamones,^ and
other ^Ethiopian tribes, he tells us that the same custom
existed ; and Dulaure asserts that it occurred also at Carthage,
and in several parts of Greece, as also, according to
Hamilton,'' in I[in(lostan. The account which Herodotus
gives of the Lydians, though not so clear, seems to indicate a
similar law.

The customs of the Thracians, as described by Herodotus,"
point to a similar feeling. Among races somewhat more ad-
vanced, the symbol supersedes the reality of this custom, and
St. Augustine found it necessary to protest against that which
prevailed, even in his time, in Italy.^

Diodorus Siculus mentions that in the Balearic Islands,
Majorca, Minorca, and Ivica, the bride was for one night consi-
dered as the common property of all the guests present ; after
which she belonged exclusively to her husliand." Garcilasso
de la Vega records the existence of a similar custom among the
Mantas, a Peruvian tribe ;^ as also does Langsdorf, '" in Nukahiva ;

> Melpomene, iv. 1 72.
« Clio. 109. ' Strabo, lib. 2.

< Mi'li><)incne, 172.
• ,\ccoiuit ot'tlu- Kast Inilios. Pin-
kcrton's Vnynu:*'^, vul. viii. p, 371.
" Ti-rpsii'liori', v. 0.
' Dulauro, Im: vit., vol. ii. p. 100.

Sec App.

■ Diodorus, v. 18.

' Uoyal Commentaries of tlio Iiicas,
vol. ii. p. 142.

'" Wutrke's Die orstcn Stufi'ii dor
(~!e«i'liichto dir Mcnsclilieit, vol, i.
p. 177.

NOTES.

fiSl

:iij(l we find a similar idea in part of Madagascar ami in the
Philippines.

In India,' and particularly in the valleys of the Ganges,
virgins were compelled before marriage to present themselvi's
in the temples dedicated to Juggernaut, and the same is said
to have been customary in Pondicherry and at (ioa.* To the
same feeling we may perhaps ascribe the custom which in so
many cases gave the jus primcv noctis to the chief or the
medicine man.

Among the Sonthals, one of the aboriginal Indian tribes,
the marriages take place once a year, mostly in January. ' For
six days all the candidates for matrimony live together ; after
which only are the separate couples regarded as having estab-
lished their right to marry."* Mr. Fison tells us that among
the Kurnais marriage by capture is the only recognised form.

* But a man,' he says, * must give notice to his " pares " (I do

* not know how otherwise to distinguish them), and they must

* meet the woman in the bush, and use her as their wife before

* she can elope with him.''

Carver mentions '' that while among the Naudowessies, he
observed that they paid uncommon respect to one of their
women, and found that she was considered to be a person of
high distinction, because on one occasion she invited forty
of the principal warriors to her tent, provided them with a
feast, and treated them in every respect as husbands. On
enquiry he was informed that this was an old custom, but had
fidlen into abeyance, and * scarcely once in an age any of the

* females are hardy enough to make this feast, notwithstanding

* a husband of the first rank awaits as a sure reward the success-

* ful giver of it.'

Speaking of the Greenland Esquimaux, Egede expressly
states that those are reputed the best and noblest tempered who,

* without any pain or reluctancy, will lend their friends their

* wives.' ^

' Histoiro abrcgeo des CultcB, vol. i. * I'ison. Jour. Anthr. Inst. 1880,

p. 431. r- 3>0-

« Ihid., vol. ii. p. 108. * Travels in Norfii Americii.p. 2\h.

» The People of India, by J. F. See a!«o Notes.
Watson and J. W. Kayo, vol. i. p. 2. * History of Greenland, p. 142.

M M 2

532

NOTES.

Wo know that in Athens courtesans were higlily res])eete<l.
*The daily conversation they listened to, says Lord Karnes,'
*on philosophy, politics, poetry, enlightened their understand-

* ing and improved their taste. Their houses became agreeable

* schools, where everyone might be instructed in his own art.
' Socrates and Pericles met frequently at the house of Aspasin,

* for from her they acquired delicacy of taste, and, in return
' procured to her public respect and reputation. Greece at

* that time was governed by orators, over whom some celebrated

* courtesans had great influence, and by that mejms entere<l
' deep into the government.'

So also it was an essential of the model Platonic Republic

* that among the guardians, at least, the sexual arrang<'ments

* should be under public regulation, and the monopoly of one

* woman by one mr.n forbidden.' '

In Java we are told that courtesans are by no means
d(!spised, and in some parts of Western Africa the negroes are
stated to look on them with respect ; while, on the other hand,
oddly enough, they have a strong feeling against musicians,
who are h)oked on as * infamous, but necessary tools for their
pleasure.' They did not even permit them to be buried, lest
th(^y should pollute the eartli.^ In India, again, various occu-
l):itions which we regard as useful' and innocent, if humble,
are considered to be degrading in the highest degree. On
the other hand, in the famous Indian city of Vesali, *mar-
' riage was forbidden, and high rank attached to the lady
' who held office as Chief of the Courtesans.' When the Holy
I'uddha (Sakyamuni), in his old age, visited Vesiili, 'he was
lodged in a garden belonging to * the Chief of the Courtesans,
and 'received a visit from this grand lady, who drove out to
' s(!e him, attended by her suite in stately carriages. Having
'approached and bowed down, slu; took her seat on one side

'of him and listened to a discourse on Dharma On

' cnleriug the town she met the rulers of Vesah", gorgeously
'apparelled; but tlieir etpiipages made way for her. They
'asked her to resign to them' the honour of entertaining
SSakyanmni; but she refused, and the great man hims-'lf, wh(;n

' Ilii^tory of Man. vol. ii. \\ •'>».
••' IJain'H Mental fin'l Moral .Sci«nc<<,

• Waitz' Antlinipoloirv. p. 317.
' Astley. vol. ii. i>. 279.

NOTES.

OO.i

* solicited by the rulers in person, also refused to break his

* engagement with the lady.''

Until recently the courtesans were the only educated
women in India.'* Even now many of the great Hindoo temples
have bands of women attached to them, and it seems at first
sight a strange anomaly that, while a woman born of, or adopted
into, one of these families is not held to pursue a shameless
vocation, other women who have fallen from good repute an;
esteemed disgraceful.' There is, in renlity, however, nothing
anomalous in this. The former continue an old custom <»f the
country, under solemn religious sanction; the latter, on tlu;
contrary, have given way to lawless inclinations, have outraged
l)ublic feelings, and brought disgrace on their families. In
ancient Egypt, again, it would appear that illegitimate children
were, under certain circumstances, preferred over those born
in wedlock.*

AVhen the special wife was a stranger and a slave, while the
communal wife was a relative and a free-woman, such feelings
would naturally arise, and would, in some cases, long survive
the social condition to which they owed their origin.

Paue 44G.

2'fie Maltlijl'iclty of Rules in Audralia.

It seems at first sight remarkable that a race so low as the
Australians should have such stringint laws and apparently
coinpli'X rules. In fact, however, th(y are merely customs to
which anti(juity has gradually given the force of law ; and it
is obvious that when a race has long remained stalir)nary we
may naturally expect to find many customs thus crystallised,
as it were, by age.

' ^Irs. Spior's Life in Aiicitnt Imli i,

281.
'' Dubiiis' rcoplc uf lutlia, pp. I'l?.

402.

» The IV'.pIo of JtKlia. Ly J. !•'.

Watsuii ami .1. W. K;ty<', vLiii. p. !<'■">.

« JLifliolij), KabMuilfrrro'.t, p. I'Jo.

INDEX.

ABE

AltEOKUTA, tattoos of the people
. of, 61
AbiiKinus, ideas rcgnnling npirits, 220

— tlieir <!islitlii;f in natural tUatli, 224

— uorcerers among thfm 2ol, 2.53

— thiHT .Sliainanisni. 250

— their worship of the Pleiades, 31(5

— u<» idea among them of ertation, 379

— tiirir nuthod of nnnieratiou, 440
Alistract terms, abseneo of, among

8a\Mg('S, 432
Al>.\>!.iiiia, marriiigo ceremony in, 88
Abyi-wiiiians, ahsencc of the marriage

ccnniony among the, 84

— practice of adoption among them, 97

— their stone worship, 309
Adoption, prevalence among the lower

races of men, 96

— a nong the Ore ks and Romans, 97

— end milk tie, 1)7
il-ithiopia, marriiigo customs in,
Africa, customs as to fathers and

mothers-in-law, 13

— writing used as me<licine in, 24

— drawings not understood in, 46

— personal ornamentation of varicus
tribes. 59, 62

— their tattoos and tribal marks, 62,68

— marriiigc and relationship in, 73

— practice of a<i(>}ition in, 96

— marriage customs of the I'ntans, 117
of the Nortli Africans, 118

— restrictions on marriage in Ka-stern
and AVestern, 132

— inheritance through females in, 147

— relationship in, 147

— how dreams are regarded by some
tribes, 215

— notions of a man's shadow, 218

— anil of the Deity, 221

— behaviour of the people during
eclipses, T62

— totonii>m in, 260

— bcrpent-worship in, 2GG

AME

Africa — continued.

— animal-worship in, 275

— tree-worship in, 288

— water-worship in, 297

— stone-worship in, 309

— ceremony of eating the fetich in, 325,
364

— worship of men in, 354, 355, 357,
358

— human sacrifices in. 363

no notion of creation among the
pi o) lie of, !<81

— absence of moritl feeling in, ^'?G, 397

— - poverty of tiit^ iMiigua;ze of, 431

— absence of abstract iite.MS in, 432

— methods of niMiieration in, 4 10, 441
- salutations of the pi opie in, 452

Age, respect pnid to. 408
.\t;e.«, the l''our, the true theory of, 512
Atroye, an idol of Wiiiiidah. 268
Ahiiiis of the I'iiilippines, iiiarriago

customs of the. 117, 121
Ahoosh, Lake, hell sacred by the

I5askhiri- .97
Alits, inac .'ily of tlu'r intellect, 9

— - slavery of I'em.ilo captives among

the, 142

their sorcerers, 25i>
their worship of the snn and moon,

315
Ainos, lire-worship among the, 314
Aleutian Islanders, tattooing of the, 63
Algonkiiis, their rules and ceremonies,

449
Alligator-worship, 276
Amazon Valley, marriage by capture

among the tribes of the, 115
America, South, custom of La Couvado

in, 15, 18
American Indians, customs among the,

in reference to mothers-in-law, 11

— cuntom of La L'ouvadp among tlie, 17

— their ideas with reference to por-
traits, 22

S3G

INDEX.

AME

American Indians — continued.

— their uso of writing as medicine, 23

— their mode of curing disease^, 29

— their treatment of twins, 32

— their picture-writings, 48-51, 53-57

— their grb.ve posts, 62

— their personal ornamentation, 60

— marriuge and relationship among
the, 72

— absenca of marriage ceremony, 84

— system of relationship among some
tribes of, 06

— custom among the Hudson's Kay
Indians of wrestling for a wiff, 101

-- marriage customs of the Sontli Ame-
rican, lis

— - restrictions on marriage among some

of them, 135-137

— importance of their totems, or crests,
136

— relationship through females among
tiiem, 151

— systems of relationship among them,
lf.2, 175-177

— absence of religion among t'Onie
tribes, 212

— how dreams are reganled by them,
218

— their notion of a man's shadow, 219
of 8 Deity, 219

— spirits, h'lw regarded by some, 221

- how they regard death, 224

• tlieir belief in a phimlity of souls,
236

in divination, 239

— their sorcery, 242, 243

- their fasting and supposed revela-
tions, 261

- their religious ideas, 262

• their totemism, 262

- their belief in fitiehes, 269

- their worship of the serpent, 270
preralenco of animal worship among

tliem, 271
-- their tree-worship, 287
their Wiiter-worsliip, 299

- tlieir st(!no-worshi[>, 311
their lire-worship, 315

- absence of idolatry anionj^ tliein,
344

- wliite men rogarded as deities
amonu tlieni, S.iiS

- ♦.heir saeritices, 361

- fearless of death, 378

- tlieir objeet ion to prayer, 383, '.]?,,

- no distinetiou of rij^ht and wronp
«nioiij>. ;)!)!)

- - tlieir notion of a fiitiire state, 404

- their lani^Miages, 41(i, 420

- customs (if tlie, 4 17

AUS

American Indians — continued.

— their property in land, 465

— names taken by parents from their
children, 467

— their punishment of crime, 469
Anarchy on death of chief, 460
Ancestors, worship of, 318, 347, 363
Andaman Islands, relationship between

the sexes in the, 89, 105
Anylo-tSaxons, their wergild, 474
Animal- worship considered as a stau;o

of religions progress, 259

— explanations of the ancients, 26!)

— among the ancient Egyptians, 276

— custom of apologizing to animals for
killing them, 276

Ant hills worshipped, 319

Apis regarded by the Egyptians as a

god, 362
Araba, their ideas ns to the influence of

food, 20
— tattooing of the, 64

— singular marriage of thellr jsaniyeh,
78

— nlations of hnsbnnd and wife, 82

— tlieir ancient stone-worship, 306

— their notions of a broken oath, 401
Arawaks, absence of the man-iage cere-
mony among the, 84

Arithmetic, difliculties of savages in,
434, 436

— use of the fingers in, 437, 438
Armenia, marriage customs in.
Art, earliest traces of, 41

— in the Stone Af^a, 41

— filniost absent in the Bronze Age,
41

— ns an ethnologi'-al character, 41,
45,

Aryan religions contrasted with Semitic,

336, 337
Ashantee, King «pf, his haroni, 146
Asliantees, absence of tlio marriage

ceremony among the, 86

- their water-worship, 297
Assyrians, their human sacrifices, 306
Atheism, defined, 206

- the natural condition of the eavago
mind, 211

Australians, Dampicrs mistake with
the, 8

— their habit of non-contrndietion, 8

— their customs ns to fathers and
inotliers-in-law, 13, 14

— their modes of curing diseases, ?3

- some of them unable to underbtaud
a drawing. 46

— tliiir personal ornaments, 57

- niairiage among them, 76
cmniititiii ipf their women, 76

INDEX.

537

AUS

Anatr&M&nB— continued,

— their practice of marriage by capture,
107, 108

— restrictions on marriage among them,
131

— how dreams are regarded by them,
217

— their belief in an evil spirit, 223

— think they become white men after
death, 235

— their totemism, 261

— their religious ideas, 321

— had no idfa of creation, 321

— Mrs. Thomson's residence among
them, 322

— their ideas of the dead, 378

— their absence of moral feeling, 396

— no notion of future rewards and
punishments, 40i)

— character of their laws, HO

— their salutiitions, 450

— tlieir property in laud, 455

— division of property into portions, 162

— tliuir custom of taking the names of
their ciiildren, 466

— position of women among them, 529

BABYLONIA, marriage customs in,
529
iiachapins, their religious ideas, 324
Balearic Islands, marriagi' customs in

•lie, 5;{0
Bali, tiineics of the natives of, respecting
twitis, 34

— practice of marriage by capture in,
1U8

Bamboo, the, wnrshippid, 290
Basulos, their idea ot shadows, 219

— system of primogeniture of tlie, 465
J 5at tiis of Suniat ra, nlat ionship througli

feinalis among I lie, 149
Biar, worsliip of tlio, 271
]$e.iru, eustoin of I^ Convade in, 16
Ikrhuaims, their iileas rtganliiig evil

spirits, 21, 22(», 226

— their notions of tb j causes of death,
21. 223

— tiieir tofeniism. 260

— their worsliip of the sun, ,'317
Beiiouiiis, alisence of religion among the

wiMer, 21 1

their mode of divination, 2;{8
BrtrliliDoiii. Irop worship in, 2!H)
Bolls, «M() of, by the Miidilliists, 227

— and by the Japanese, 227
Berbers, their custom of inheritance

tliiiiugh females, 147
Biiilaiig IslHUfiers, ahsin-e of moral
reiibp am >iig the, iOJ

CAB

Bird-frorship, 271

Blood-revenge, 107, 470, 472

Bo tree, worship of the, in India and

Ceylon, 2«9
Borneo, condition of the wild men of

the interior ot, iO

— customs as to mothers-in-law, 13

— am! of La Couvade, 18
Bornouese, tribe marks of the, 62
Borough Knglish, 468
Bouriats, their sacred lakes, 296
B(.y niarriage, 80, 124

Brazilians, their custom of killing and
eating captives, 127

— their marriage ngulations, 137

— tlieir notiim of evil spirits, 221

— sorcerers among them, 251
Britons, post-obits among the, 476
Brumf'r Island, tattooing among the

women of, 64
BuflRilo-bell, worship of a, 319
Bunns of Africa, tribal marks of the,

62
Burial of things with dead, 283
Burmese system of relationship, 178
Bushmen, Lielitenstein's description of

the, quoted, 1 1

— th( ir customs as to fathers and
niotliers-in-law, 14

— unable to understand perspective, 47

— absence of the marriage ceremony
among them, 85, 89

— their notions of ghosts, 235
Butias, absence of marriage ceremonies

among, 83

CALIFORNIANS, absence of religion
and government among the, 211

— their helief in the lUstruction of
body and spirit, 2;i0

— their religious ideas, 323

— alrsenco of ideas respecting creation,
379

Callaway on Kaffir religion, 325, 344,

380
Cambodians, tlioir low ideas regarding

spirits, 227

— their notion of eclipses, 231
Canadian Indians, marriage ceremony

among, 87
(^aril)S, their ideas rcspucting the influ-
ence of food, 20

— their praelice of marriage by capture.
107

— their liehaviour during eclipses, 230

— their heliuf in the pliiraliiy of souls,
2;i(i

— their fa>-liiig and supposed rL'Vel.i
tions, '-'■):)

5.38

INDEX.

CAU

CAT\\>ii'-conlinuctl.

— their notion of tiie Deity, 309
Caroline Islander, tattooing of a, Cft
Carthaginians, their human bacintiees,

36tt
Colts, their tree-worship, 288
Census roll, an American Indian, 50
Coremonies, 451
Ceylon, two kinds of marriage in, 78

— polynndry in, 140

— tree-worship in, 289
the sacred Bo tree, 289

— religious ideas of the Veddalis, 323
Clialikatos, disbelief of a future state,

374
Check studs, 60
Chorokof's, system of relationship

amoner, 183

— divination practised by the, 237

— tiieir practice of fasting, 252

— their fire-worship, 314

— their progress in civilisation, 490
Cliincsp, their customs as to daugiitirs-

iiilaw, 13
■ — tlu'ir custom of Lii Couvade, 18

— their notions as to the influ'-nce of
food, 20

— thoir mode of saluUitiou, 30

— their presents of coffins, 40

— their defieieneyin the art of perspec-
tive, 47

— their knots for transacting businc.-s,
47

— llioir compression of ladies' feet, (i8

— their marriage customs, S8

• — restrictions on marriage amongst
them, 136

— noiions regarding eclipses, 231

— their idea of the man in the moon,
232

— witchcraft, of the magicians, 247

— their foticiies, 201

— life attributed by them to inanimate
objects, 28-3

— their treatment of their gods, 332

— their idolatry, 340

— their liinguiigo, 417
Chipewyans, their idea of creation, 379

— sacrilico of prisoners abolished, 489
Chippewas, system of relationship

among, 1 86

Cliii|uito Indians, their behaviour dur-
ing ei'lipses, 231

Cliittiigong, marriiigo among the hill
tribes of, 74, 82

Clnieknias, marriiige ciistmu among, 123

Circassians, the milk tie iunopg the. 97

— marriiigo l.v t'orfe a", )iip them, 110

— exogamy among tlieui, 13i
Cocuipliu, 1(10

DKA

C >ffins, presents of, 40
Colours, wonls for, 433
Conianches, their worship of the !^un,
moon, and earth, 315

— absence of moral feeling among the,
397

— abolition of wife sacrifices, 489
Communul marriage, 89, 98, 104
Confarreatio, 114

Coroailos, custom of La Couvade amoi g
the, 16

— P' rsonal ornaments of a woman, 68

— their worship of the sun aud moon,
316

— thiiir method of numeration, 439
Courtesans, respect paid in Greecu to,

532

— their religious character in India,
533

Couvade, La, custom of, in Beam, 16

— its wide distribution, 15, 10

— origin of tlie custom, 18
Creation, no idea of, among the lower

races, 379
Crees, system of relntionshipamong, l.SG
Crocodile-worship, 276

DACOTA IIS, their notions as to the
influence of food, 20

— their water-god, I'nktahe, 299

— their stone-worsliiii, 311

liahoiiie, king (jf, his messengers to his

deceased father, 378
J)ampier,hismist»ike with Australians, 8
Dan e, a, among the Redskins of Vir

giiiiii, 370
Diinees, religioxis, among savages, 253,

621
Daruout, notion as to eclipses at, 232
Date-tree, worship of tlie, 288
Death, I'isbeliof among savages in tlio

existence of natural, 223
Deification, savage tendency to, 257, 2 3
Di kkan, sacrod (>tones in the, 304

— tattooing of thi' women of, 05
Delaviares, system of relaiionsLip

among, 182
Descent through mother, 140

„ „ father, 152

Disease, supposed tobecaused by spirits,

— how regarded by savages, 27

— various modes of curing. 27

— causes of, according to the Kaffirs
326

Divination among savage races. 229

modes of, descrilifd, 2117. 210
Koingnaks, endogamy of I lie, 143
Dniwiiigs, not understood, 45, 46

INDEX.

630

DRB

Dreams, religious ideas suggesftd by,
214

— influence of, according to tliu Kaffirs,
326

I))'uk.s of Borneo, custom of La Couvado
among the, 18

— their ideas respecting the influence
of food, 19

EAR ornaments, 60
Eclipses, behaviour of savages
during, 229-232
Echo taken for a fetich, 219
Egyptians, their animal worship, 259,

275
Endogamy, origin of, 142
England, water-worship in, 295

— worship of stones in, 307
Erromango, worship of the sun in, 318
Esquimaux, tiicir attempts to render

barren women fertile, 21

— tlieir male of curing diseases, 30

— their mode of salutation, 40

— their skill in drawing, 42, 43

— their pi'ituro-Mritings, 48

— their personal ornamentation, 00

— their hal)il of lii'king presents. 97

— tiieir Ciipture of brides, 1 13

— their system of relationship, 189

— their .Slianianism, 3 to

— their language, 410

— Cai)t. Parry's picture of a hut of the,
503

European system of nlationship, 101
Eyebrigiit, the, used fur oeuhir torn-

phiints, 20
Exogamy, or marriiigo out of a tribe,

127
Expiation for niarriiige, 125, 620

I7AMILIA, the, of the Konians, 76,
. 100
l"'.isting practised by savages, 251
Eatlierand motlier, origin of the terms,
421

— words for, in various languages, 422,
427

Father taking name of cliild, 407
Eeejcans, their custom of Vusii, 151

— their tatooing, 04

— their hair-dressing, 71

— tiieir polyandry, 81

— their marriage customs, 82

• — their marriage by capture, 115

— system of indatioiiship among, 106,
167, 180

— their I'elinitjiis idea? regardiiif:
dreams, -17

ORE

Feejeans — coni inttetl.

— their mode of sorcery, -.1, 242, 245

— their serpent-worship, 269

— and worship of other animals, 273

— their worship of plants, 292

— their stone worship, 300

— their Siiamanism, 341

— their offerings of food to the gods,
361

— their notions of a future state, 373

— their practice of putting old peopio
to death, 376

— names andcharacteroftheirpods, 400

— had no notion of future rewards
and punishments, 402

— gradations of rank among, 452

— their ceremonies, 454

— their laws of inheritance, 460
Felattih ladies, toilet of, 59
Fetichism deflned, 206

— considered as a state of religious
progress, 329, 330, 331

— believed in Europe, and in other
races, 328

— belief of the negroes in, 329, 330

— eating the fetich, 334
Fire-worship, 312

Flatiieads of Oregon, their fasts, and

supposed revelalions, 252
Formosa, tattooing in, 65
France, worsliip of stones in, 307
Frierdly Islanders, their exphmations

to Labillardiere 7

— their treachery, 388
Friesland, marriage by force in, 119
Futans. marriage customs of t lie, 117
Future life, absence of belief in a,

among savages, 233, 234

GALACTOrilAni, communal mar-
riage of the, 95
Gambier Isbuids, tattooing in the, 05
(iangiimma. or rivers, worshippcil in

India, 297
( binges, worship of the, 297
(faros, marriage ceremonies of the, 1 1 1

121
(iernians, ancient, relationship anion

the, 148
(liiosts, belief (if savages in, 233-235
while men regarded as, 235
dift'oreiieo in the belief in ghosts and
in the existence of a soul, 372
(togueton property, 455

on laws, 443
Goose, the, worshipped, 275
Grave-posts of American IndiiUis, 51
Greeks, their noti'ms respecting their
deitie.s,'-'28

540

INDEX.

GRE

Greeks — continued.

— tlioir water-worship, 296

— their Btone-worship, 307

— origin of their myths, 337, 338

— character of their gods, 400

— their power of willing property, 461

— their officers for prosecuting crimi-
nals, 469

Groenlanders, their custom of La C'ou-
vttde, 17

— their notions respecting dreams, 215

— their behaviour during eclipses, 229

— fasting and sorcery among them, 2/) 1
• — seizure of property after ii man's

death, 460
Oruugach-stones in Skye, 308
Guum, endogamy in, 144
Guiana, custom of La Couvndo in, 16

— medical treatment of the savages of,
28

— restrictions on marriage amonfr tlio,
137

• — native method of numeration, 439
Guinea, tattooing in, 65

— human sacrifices at, 360

— notions of a future state in, 374

— New, Uittooing among the women
of, 64

Guyacurus of Paraguay, matrimony
umoog the, 75

HAIR-DRESSING of the Feejeeans,
69

— of othsr races, G9

Iliiitians, heaven upon earth among,

376
Ilawaiian system of relationsliip, 91,

94, 170, 173
llassaniyeh Aral is, 78
Head, compro.^.sion of the, among some

American tribes, 68
Heaven, ideas of, among the lower races,

373, 37.)
Helen, ehiiriu!ter of, 526
Heliogabalus, form of the god, 307
normci", or Ternies, worship of stones

under the name of, 'M)'2
IIin<loo, system of nomenclature and

relationsliip .n, 187, 188
Honeymoon, Ij2
Hottentots, marriiipe among the, 72

— tiieircvil spir'ls, 2'20

• I heir notion of prayer, 382
but no idea of t'uhirc rewards ami
pimishinonts, Id.')
Jiinlson's IJay Inilians, rclatioiisliips

tlin)Uj;li t'tniab's ami 111^!; lilt', I.'jO
Hiini:in Mii'i'ilii'cs. Hiio, 'M^

— abolition nt, l>i!'

ITA

Hunting, custom of the Koussu Kaffirs

respecting, 277, 278
— laws of savages, 450

IDOLATRY, or anthropomorphism,
206
-considered as a stage of religious
development, 343

— unknown to the lower races, 344, 34.5

— origin of, 347

- writer of the Wisdom of Solomou
on idols, 351

— idols not regarded as mere emblems,
352

Ikeougoun, lake of, held sacred, 296
Immortality of the soul, 233, 372
India, La Couvade in, 17

— - taitooing in, 64

— absence of the marriage ceremony
among some tribes in, 83

marriage customs among others, 109,
110

- respect paid to courtesans jit Vcsali,
532

— re8tric*'.ons on marriage in some
races, 132, 133

— polyandry in, 140

— endogamy, 141

system of I.evirate in, 142

— sorcery of the magicians of, 242

— religious dances in, 266

— animal worship in, 274, 275
inanimate objects worshipped in,

282, 286
tree-worship in, 282, 289, 290

- water-worship in, 297

— stone-worship in, 3(i3

- worship of the sun in, 317

— various other worships in, 319
fetiehism in, 332

idolatry in. 346

worship of ancestors in, 349

- human sacrifices in, 563, 366

not ions of future rewards and punish-
ments among A'arious races of, 4(i3

— salutations and ceremonies in, 452
rights of ehiUlren in, 464

— primogeniture in, 468
Infanticide, causes of, among savagis,

129
Inheritance, custom of, through femalt s,

146, 454
Irebiiiti, marriage custom in, 121

— water-worship in, 295

- stone-wovsliip in, ;i()8

li'ocpiois, rebitionsliip through feiuiues
aniouLr, l.')0

liow they ngard icliphi's, 'J^iO
li.ily maniiii^c I'u^lom in, .i.'ifi

INDEX.

541

JAK

VKl'TS, rostriclinus oti marriage
am iig tlio, 13;>

— tlioif worship of animals, 274

— their worship of trees, 200
Japan, marriage custom in, 79

— system of rdationsliip in. 178
Java, courtesans not despi.<;e(l in, ;')32
Jews, relationship among the, 152

— sacrifices among the, 360, 368

KACHARIS, absence of moral feeling
among the, 397
Kaffirs, custom as to father and

mother-in-law, among, 14
— ideas on the influence of food, 20

— disease attributed by the Koussas
to three causes, 32

— unable to understand drawings, 46

— ornamentation of the skin of the
Bachapins, 62

— marriage among the, 72

— marriage cen'niony. 1 1 7

— system of relationship, 184

— remarks of the chief Seseka to Mr.
Arbrousset, 200

— absence of religion among the
Koussas, 211

— a Zulu's notions of religion, 213

— notion of the causes of death, 223

— and of evil spirits, 227

— curious hunting custom of the
Koussas, 277

— religious ideas. 324, 32')

— their worsliip of ancestors, 348

— priests among the, 371

— their notions of creation, 380

— alisenco of moral feeling among the,
397

— their method of numeration, 410,
441

Kalangs of Java, restrictions on mar-
riage among the, 144
Kahuueks, their ideas of disease, 26

— marriage ceremonies of the. 111

— restrictions on marriage among the,
134

■ — their character, 389

Kamchadalos, marriage by capture

among the, 112
Kamskatka, custom of La Couvado in,

— low ideas of spirils in, 22.')
Karens, their system of relationship,

188

— their religious ideas, 343
Kanaiyers, restrictions on marriage

among the, 136

— relationship through fem dos among
tiio, liiO

LAWS

Khasnis of ITindostan, their fancies

respecting twins, 34
Khonds, of Orissa, marriage customs

among the, 109

— restrictions on marriage among the,
134

— their totemism, 383

— their water- worship, 207

— and stone- worship. 304

— the'f worship of the sun and
moon, 317

— human sacrifices among them, 363

— laws as regards hunting among, 450
Kimileroi natives, restriction of mar«

riagc among the, 131, 132

Kingsmill system of relationship, 173

Kissing, not universally practised, 38

Knots used as records. 47

Kols of Central India, marriage cere-
monies of th ,110

— their religions dances, 2."i.')
Kookies of Chittagong have no notion

of future rewards and punishments,
402

T ARRETS of the Americans and
J Africans, 59, 60
Lake worship, 296
Lama, Great, of Thibet, worship of the,

359
Land, property in, among savages, 455,

— communal property, 456, 458

— sale of, 461)

Language, figurative, of savages, 286

— probable influence of the character
of, over that of religion. 336

— the language of the lowest races.
411

— gesture language, 412, 413

— origin of languages, 414

— root-words, 417

— onomatopcoia, 418, 420

— abstract napies, 420

-- nicknames and .slang terms, 421

— origin of the terms ' father ' and
' mother.' 421

— choice of n)ot-words, 427

— poverty of savage languages, 430,
440

— t;ible of seventeen languages. 518
liUplanders, their ideas witii reference

to portraits, 22

fasting of wizarils among the, 2.'3
Lafps, tree-viir.sliip among the. L'HS
Law, conneelimi (f, with ritrlit, 101
Laws of the lower races, 1 13
-- eharaeter of their laws, 444

their multiplicity, 417
- their rules and ceremonies, 418

542 INDEX. '

LAWS

MOON

Lavs of the lower races — continued.

Mantchu Tartars, restrictions on mar-

— hunting laws, 460

riages among the, 144

— salutations, 452

Maoris, their worship of animals, 273

— property in land, 455

nrigin of, 125

— and tenures, 457

Marriage among savages, 72

— wills, 461 •

— different kinds of, 75-80

— punishment of crime, 409

pronsional marriaires in Ceylon, 78

Letters, bark, of the American Indians.

— ceremonies, separation after, 81, 82,

54, 55

Levirate system of relatinnship, 141

— absence of marriage ceremony, 83

Licking presents, habit of, 97

— and of any word for marriage, 85

Life, how regarded by savages, 25

— distinction between 'lax' and

— of inanimate objects, 283

• brittle' marriages, 86

Limboos, customs of relationship

— gndual development of the custom

among the, 149

of marriage, 88

Livingstone on salutations and cere-

— communal marriage, 89,98, lOt

monies in Africa, 453

— Baehofen's views, 99, 100

Locke questions the existence of innate

— marriage with female supremacy, 99

principles, 394

— Avrestling for wives, Kd

Lycians, relationship through females

— M'Lennan's views, 102

among the, 143

— the true explanation, 103, 104

— the prevalence of marriage by cap-

ture, 106

TITADAGASCAE, ideas of evil spirits
M in, 32

which becomes subsequently a

mere form, 1 09

— - practice of adoption in, 96

— custom of lifting the bride over the

— inheritance tlirough females in, 148

doorstep, 122

— religious regard paid to dreams in,

— marriage by coni.rreatio, 123

215

— expiation for marriage in various

— animals worshipped in, 276

countries, 125, 529

— belief of fetichisni in, 334

- temporary wives, 126

— idolatry in, 345

— exogamy and its origin, 128

— worship of men in, 355

— restrictions against marrying women

— sacrifices in, 3G1

of the same stock, 131

— human sacrifices in, 3G6

— endogamy, .42

— no priests in, 370

- - marriage with half-sisters, 152

— absence of temples in, 369

^lercury, his offices, 302

M'Lonnan on marriiigo, 102, 106

Mexicans, animal-worship among the,

Maine, Sir H., remarks on liis 'Ancient

272

Law,' 6.

— their tree-worship. 293

— on wills, 461

— their water-wnvsliip, 300

Maize, worsh'p of, by the Peruvians, 293

— tlieir fire-worship, 314

Makololo, similarity of witchcraft

— their human sacrifices, 3^9. 367

among the, 247

Micmac system of relationsliip, 176

Malays, their ideas respecting the in-

Microncsians, worship of stones among.

fluence of food, 19

311

— their marriage ceremonies, 111

- their worsliip of ancestors, 349

— Mr. Wallace's picture of a savage

- Iiave no temples, 369

community, 394

- their notions of a future state, 374

— their method of nnmeraMon, 440

Milk-tio, the, in Circassia, 97

Mama Coeha, principal deity of the

— strength of the relationship among

Peruvians, 301

the Scotch Hiy:Idanders, 145

Mammoth, ancient drawing nf a, 41

Mirdites, marriage by capture among

Mandaus, their water- worship, 300

the, 120

Mandingoes, marriage among the, 74

Moliegans, nomenclature is use among

— absence of marriage ceremony among

the, 185

the, 86

Mongols, marriage customs of the, 113

— marriage by force among the, 118

- their mode of divination, 238

- animal-worship among 1 lie, 278

- - their laws, 449

— tlifiir notion of prayer, 382

Moon, worship of the, 315, 318

INDEX,

MOR

Moral fccHnfj, orijyin of, 406

— aV)senco of, 388

— connection of religion anil morality,
409

Morgan, Mr., on development of rela-
tionship, 157

Mothers-in-law, customs in reference
to, 11-13

Mountain worship, 301, 311

iVInndaris, marriage ceremony among,
86

Munsee, system of relationship, 182

Musicians looked on as infamous.

Mystery men, or medicine men, 371

Myths," 335

N.\IRS of India, relationship among
the, 89

— relationship through females among
the, 149

Names, superstitionsabout calling father
after son, 46G

— women no names, 431
Naples, fetichiism in, 329
Natchez, their stone-worship, 311

— their fire-worship. 314
Nature-worship defined, 206
Naudowessies, custom of polyandry

among the, 531
Negroes, their notion of evil s[iirits, 221,
222

— their belief in ghosts, 233

— their absence of belief in a future
life, 233

— become white men after death, 235

— their sorcery, 241

— their belief in fetichism, 267

— their tree-worship, 289

— their worship of the sea, 298

— and of white men, masts, uiul pumps,
299

— and worship of an iron bar. 319

— Shamanism among them, 342

— have no mition of creation, 381

— nor of prayer to the Deity, 382

— absence of moral feeling among the,
397

— their salutations, 452

New Zealand, worship of men in, 355
Nicaragua, rain-worship in, ;?0l
Nicknames, origin of, 421
Nicobar Islands, ideas of the natives of,

of spirits, 225
Nightmare, thi*, 217
Norway, stone-worship in, 308
Nose-ring, worship of a, 319
Numerals, savage names of, 437, 441
Nyambnna«, ornamentation of the skin

of the, 62

rOL

OJIHWAS, their fin^worship, 314
Oinahaws, their customs respecting
soDs-in-law, 12
Omens, 35, 216
Onoidas, their system of relationship,

183
Ornaments, personal, of savages, 57
Ostiaks their custom as to daughters-
in-law, 12

— their ornamentations of the skin, 63

— exr^gamy among them, 135

— their religious (lances, 255

— their tree-worship, 291

— and stone-wership, 303

— their statues in memory of the dead,
350

Orawa system of relationship. 184
Ox, the. held sacred in lu lia and
Ceylon, 275

rlCIFIC Islands, human sacrifices in
the, 3G6
Paraguay, sea-worsliip in, 301
Parents, custom of naming them after

children. 466
Patiigonians, their tree-worship. 293
Persia, Homa or Soma worship of, 287
Peruvians, their fancies about twins, 35

- their mode of recorling events, 47

— their religious idejis regarding
dreams, 216

— their notions of eclipses, 231

— their animal-worsliip, 272

— their sea-wor.sliip, 301

— their fire-worship. 314

— thf ir worship of the sun, 316

- worship of nun aTuonir. 355

— their notion of religjijn and morals,
404

Petition, an American Indian, 56
Philippine Islands, worship of trees in

thp, 292
Phcnnicians, their stone-worship, 306
Pieturi-writing. 48, 49
Pleiades, worship of tlie. .^16
P(dyandry, reasons for, 80

— causes of, 141

— list of tribes regarded as pol\an-
drous, 139

considered as an exceptional phoiio-
nioiion, 139, 140

— widelydistributed over India, Thibet,
and Ceylon, 140

Polygamy, causes of, 138

Polynesia, relationship through females

in, 151
Polynesians, their drawings, 42

polyandry among them, 1 10

— their powers of witchcraft, L'49

TtU INDEX.

POL

REL

Polynesians — cnnfittunK

Relat ionship among savages —c<vitiniif<l.

aiiiiiial-worsllip amonp tlicm, 27'i

- Two-Mountain Iroquois, system of.

— worship of ancestors, 347

174

— their worship of men, 355

- importance of the mother's brother

— their method of numeration, 440

in the family system, 175

— tiieir property in hind, 456

— Micmac system of, 176

— their nvm, 474

— remarkable terms in use, 181

Pond-worship, 298

— explanation of the terms, 183, 184

Prayer, 382

- Kaffir system of, 184

Priests, alisenco of, among the h)wer

— remarkable systems of, 189, 190

races. 370

— indications of progress, 191

Prnliihitions among saviiRes, 445

— incompleteness of system of, 192

Property, communal, 456, 458

— existing system incompatible with

Prussians, tlieir aneient fires in honour

the theory of degradation, 193

of the goil Potrimpos, 313

evidence rif progress, 194-196

— no evidence of degradation. 197

sunim.iry on the subject of, 197, 198

Religion of savages, 200

/\UKHN Charlotte Island, nian*iage
\Z unknown in, 89

- their menuil inactivity, 201

character of their reliirion, 204

Qiuenshii'il, absence of religion in, 209

- ciiissitieation of the lower religions.

Quippu, the, of the Pt ruvians, 47

205

— sequence of religions according to

Sanchoniatho. 206

— totemism, 2()6, 259. 334

"pAIN, worship of, 300

Jt li:inl)ow, worship of the, 329

- religious condition of tbe lowest

races. 208

Rattle, the, regarded as a deity, 319

— tribes among whom leligion is ai)-

Eoddies of Southern India, marriage

sent, 209

customs of the, 80

— rudinieniary religion, 213

Redknives, system of relationship, 181

— dreams, 214

liedskin, rolationthip between husband

— a man's shadow, 218

and wife, 160

— .spirits at first regarded as evil,

— relationship, summary of, 187

220

— system ot relationship, 164-167

- and Cfiusing disease, 222

Reduplication of words, 519

— low ideas of spirits entertained by

Reindeer, aniient drawing of a, 42, 43

savages. 227

Bejangs of Sumatra, their custom of

— belief in ghosts. 232

filing and disfiguring the teeth, 61

— absence of belief in a future state,

Relationship among savages, 72

233

— independent of marriage, 89-91

— plurality of souls, 236

— adoption, 96

— divination and sorcery, 237, 245

--- the milk-tie, 97

— witchcraft. 245

— through mules, 154

— religious dances, 253

— change in tlie relationship from the

~ gradual development of religious

female to the male line, 153, 154

ideas, 257

• — through females, 1 46

— animal worship, 259

^ present system, 156

— deification of inanimiite objects, 278

- in generfd, 157

— worship of the sun, moon, and

— development of, 158

stars, 280

— different systems of, 159, 160

— tree-worship, 282

— classification of different systems, 160

— sundry other worships, 286

— Wyandot sysrem, 162

— water-worship, 294

— custom of addressing persons by

— worship of stones and mountains,

their, 102, 164

301

— similarities of system among the

— fire-worship, 312

lower races, 104, 167

— fetichism, 328

— nomenclature of, 167

— developmental and adaptational

— eflPtct of female kinship on systems

changes, 337

of, 168, 170

Shamanism. 339

INDEX.

545

REL

Religion of savages — continued.

— idolatry, 348

— worship of ancestors and of men,
258, 318,347,353

— worship of principles, 359

— BacrificGS, 360, 361

— temples, 368

— the soul, 372, 377

— the future state, 376

— creation, 379
^ prayer, 382

— progress of, 385

— connection of religion and morality,
409

— progress of religious ideas among
savages, 508, 509

Right, connection of, with law, 404

Rishis, or penitents, of India, how re-
garded, 225

River-worship, 295

Rock sculptures, 57

of Western Europe, 57

Ron.ans, system of relationship among,
15J, 191

— their notions respecting their deities,
228

— marriage laws, 79

— sorcery among them, 244

— origin of their myths, 338

— their human sacrifices, 367

— importance of formalities and ex-
pressions among the, 454

— property in land among the, 461

— their wills, 462

— their laws of property, 472
Russia, human sacrifices in, 367

SAB;EISM, 280
Sacrifices, human, 360-368

— confusion of the victim with the
Deity, 362

— in ancient times, 366
Salutation, forms of, among savages,

381
Samoans, tr^temism among, 263

— religious ideas regarding death, 326

— their idea of creation, 380

— gradation of rank among, 452
Samoyedes, marriage among the, 74,

— absence of aifection in marriage
among the, 74

— marriage by capture among the, 1 1 3

— exogamy among the, 135
Sanchoniatho, sequence of religions ac-
cording to, 20f'

Sandwich Islanders, tattooing of, 08

— relationship among the, 91

— fiidogamy among them, 144

SER

Sandwich Islanders — cotifinnrd.

their animal-worship, 272
Satan Dot among savages, 385
Sjiviigos, their reasons for what they do

and believe, 6

— difficulties of communicating with
them, and consequent mistakes, 7

— inactivity of their intellect, 7, 201

— condition of the lowest races of men,
9-12

— resemblance of different races in
simiLir stages of development to one
another, 11

— wide distribution of the custom of
LaCouvade, 16-17

— ideas on the influence of food, 19

— tlieir notions with reference to por-
traits, 21

— and as to the value of writing, 23,
24

— their ideas of disease, 25

— their fancies respecting twins, 34,
35

— how life is regarded by them, 36

— their forms of salutation, 38

— art among them, 41

— their personal ornaments, 57

— marriage and relationship among
them, 72

— their religion, 200

— their figurative language, 286

— their character and morals, 388

— difficulty of ascertaining the charac-
ter of, 391

— their progress in morals, 393

— their family affection and moml
feeling, 395

— have no notion of a future state, 401

— origin of moral feeling among, 406

— language of the lowest races of, 411

— their laws, 443

— general conclusions respecting, 479

— papers on the primitive condition of,
481, 496

— character of the religious belief of,
488

— true nature of barbarism, 498
Seandinvia, human sacrifices in, 307
Science, services of, to the cause of re-
ligion and hum.inity, 406

Scotland, water-worsliip in. 205

— St one- worship in Skye, 308
Scythians, tiu'ir worship of a scinietar,

318
Sea, worship of the. 297-301
Semitic religions contrasted with Aryan,

336
Serpent, worship of the, 204

— races in whieh tiie serj>ent was and
is worsliipiiid, 20(5

N N

ryu; INDEX.

SUA

TIN

Sli.idow, how rnjTiinlol l>y savages, 218

Sumatrans — covfiniml.

SliiiniHiiism definod, 20G

tin ir animal-worship, 279

— frin of th(f word Sluimiin, 339

— their tree-worship. 291

— account of, 340

— their water-worship i97

Shanifins of Siberia, their supernatural

— their motion of a future state, 402

powers, 250

— their names tiiken from their chil-

Hhoshones, custom of La Couvado

dren, 4G7

amoug the, 17

Sun-worship, 315

Siberia, ideas on the influence of food

Swords, worship of, 318

in, 20

— stone-worship in. 303

— worship of ancestors in, 350

rTACITUS, his observations on tho
X a.icient Germans, 6

— notions of the people of, as to crea-

tion, 3«0

Tahiti, marriage customs in, 85

Sioux, systom of relationship among

-- life attributed in, to inanimate ob-

tho, 9G

jects, 284

Skin, ornamentation of the, 61

— animal-worship in, 284

Skyf, worship of stones in, 308

— stone-worship in, 309

Slan;,' terms, origin of, 421

- worship of the king and queen of.

Sleep, soul leaving l)0<ly in, 214

355

Smoking in religious ceremonies, 255

— human sacrifices in, 361

Snakes, departed relatives in tlie form

— absence of ideas as to creation in.

of, 269

382

Sneezing, custom at, 494

- character of tho natives of, 389, 302

Sonthals, marriage customs of the,

— notions of the people of, as to future

— their religious observances daring

rewards and punishment.s, 401

intoxication, 256

- character of the laws of, 448

— their mode of praying for rain, 300

- and of the ceremonies of, 453

Soors, al<scnce of moral sense among

— property in land in, 456

the, 399

— property left by will in, 402

Sorcery among savages, 240, 241

- custom of abdication of the king of.

— various modes of, 241, 244

465

— sorcerers not necessarily impostors.

Tamils, system of relationship among

250

the, lo.i-K"7, 180

Soul, difforimce Letweon the belief in

Tanna, ornanu its used in, 58

ghosts and in the ex-.4enee of a, 372

— tattooing among tho women of, C5

— suuls of inanirnate objects, 373

— hair-dressing in, 69

— belief that each man has several

— disease-mal.ing in, 246

souls, 375

— absence of idolatry in, 346

South Sea Islanders, system of relation-

— worship of ancestors in, 349

ship among. 173

Tapyrians, marriage custom of tho, 126

• — their religion, 204

'. artars, their notion of God. 228

Sp.irfiins, their marriages by capture, 119

-— inheritance in the youngest son

S[pitlers worsliippod, 273

among the, 467

Spirits, always regarded by savages as

TiiMnanians, their mode of sorcerv, 216

.vil. 220

Tattooing among the Africans, 62

— • of inanimate obje ts, 283

— among other races, 62 08

- - the authors of disease, 222 *•

Teehurs of Oude, relationship of the

Stars, worship of the, 31(5, 317

sexes among the, 89

StatUf'S worshipped as deili'S, 350, 351

Teeth filed, 60, 61

Stiens, their belief in an evii genius, 31

pierced and ornametite<l. 61

their Inhaviour during eclipses, 231

Temples, unknown nKjstly to the lower

— their animal-worship, 278

races, 368

■ absence of temples among the, 3()8

Thibet, polyandry in, 140

Stones, worship of, 301

Thonison, Mrs., worshijiped as a deity

Sumatrans three kinds of marriage

in Au-'tralia, :V22

among the, 70

Tliraiians, marriage customs. 5.'>0

- their behaviour during an eclipse,

Tivi-ra del l'"uego, inarri;igt'S in, 115

'.'.'.',2

Tmne Indians, restrii'lions on marriage

— .'•orcery amonp, tlie. 214

aim.ng thi-, 135

IXPEX.

">47

TIP

Tippt'mhs of Chittftffong, thoir notions
nspceting the spirits of the dead,
2:J5

Tndas of the Ncilghorry Hills, thrir
systpm of relationships, 95

— thuir worship of the ox, 275

— - prayer amongst, 383, 884
Tuiiibstonps of Anieriean Indians, 51
Tonga Islands, tattooing in the, 65

— practici; of adoption in the, 96

— nohility throngh females in, lol

— immortality of their chiefs, 372

— but not of the common people, 372

— their notion of a future state, 375

— charaoter of the islanders, 389

— their alisence of moral feeling, 308

— and of the idea of future reward's
and punishments, 401

— ceremonies of the people of the, 4.j1

— abolition of vifo sacrifice in the. 489
Tongans. system >if relationship, 166

— absence of idolatry among, 346

— their idea of creation, 380
Totomism defined, 206

— considered as a stage of religious pro-
gress, 260, 334

Totems, or crests, importance of, 136
Tottij'ars of India, system of relation-
ship of the, 96
Tree-worship, universality of, 287

— case of, recorded by Mr. Fergusson,
282

Tribe marks of various African races,

61-G5
Tunguses, marriage by capture among

the, 112

— their mode of divination, 238
-- their water- worship, 296
Turkomans, marriage among the, 81
Tuski, I heir skill in drawing, 44

— their ornamentation of the skin, 63
Twins, fancies resi)eeting, 31, 3o

— cause of the general prejudice against,
3. J

Two-Monntiiin Iroquois, system of rela-

( ifinsiiip among, 174
iniportaitceofthe mother's brother

among, 176, 193
Tylor, Karly History of Man, 15
Tyre, worsliip of a statue of Hercules

at,;5.)3

NKTAHK, water-god of the D.ico-
tah.s, 299

VKI)l)ATlS(,f tVylon,
ill. as. 3'2:{
\e;la :{12

their reli}'i"US

TUN

Ves.iU, roHffions character of the cour-
tesans of, .»32

Virginia, religious danco of the natives
of, 251

Votyaks, relation of husband and wifo
among, 82

WALE"^, marriage customs in, 120
Warali trilies, restrictions on
marriage among the, 133
Water-worship in Europe, 294

— India, 297

— Africa, 297

— N. America, 299

— S. America, .'501

WuUs. sacred, in Scotland, 295
Wergild of the Anglo-Saxons. 471
Whately, Dr., Archbishop of Dublin,

his vii'ws as to the condition of

savages, 481

— answers to his arguments, 485
Whiddnh, or Whydah. an idol of, 268

— water- worship at, 297
Wills, modern origin of, 461
Witchcraft, similarity of, in various

parts of the world, 245-247

— among savages, 246

— the belief in, shared by Europeans,
249

Wives, custom of supplying giiests with,

126
Women, position of, among savages,

73, 99

— communities in which women 'avo
exercised the supreme power, 99

— origin of exogamy, 128

— causes of pol3'gamy, 138

— endogamy, 142

— inheritance through females, 146

— position of women in Australia,
529

Wrestling for a wifo, custom of, 101
Writing used as medicine, 24

— surprise of savages at, as a mode of
' conimimication, 47

— picture, 48

— Indian bark letters, 52, 55

— a|iplication of art to purposes of
personal decoration, 57

Wv.ni lot system of relalionsliip, IGL',
"178

YIMvKALAS of Southorn Indi.i, mar-
riage cnstonis of the, I4.'{
^'iinan. West, ibviiiat ion as [iraetis.d
in. 2;i9

t,'^s

INDEX.

ZEA

ZEALANDKRS. New, cuRtom of har-
dt'iiiDg tlio hfiirt to pity, 20

— causo8 of their ciinniLalisni, 20

— tluir tiitooing, 66

— tluir courtship and marriagn, 116

— endogamy among, 1'14

— evil Kpirits, how regarded by, 222

— sorcery and witchcraft among, 24.'i

— tlieir belief in the destruction of body
and spirit, 233

— their mode of divination, 240

— their worship of animals. 273

— their absence of moral feeling, 396

ZUNI

Zcalandors —cnntiniird.

— red a sacred colour with, 305

— their worship of the rainbow, 319

— their belief in the destruction of
both body and soul, 372

— their thr^e tenures of land, 457
Zoolatry. 259, 271

Zulus, divination as practised among
the, 239

— sorcery among the, 241

— abolition of sacrifice of slaves among
the, 489

Zuni, sacred well of, 301

7.ONI10N t ppixTFn nr
sroTTiswoniiK AMI I ()., m.w-stiii:kt rqvauk

AMI I'Alll.lAMKNT MIlKKT

A-

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